Exhibition: Staging the Ukrainian Avant-Garde of the 1910s and 1920s (The Ukrainian Museum, New York; February 15 - September 13, 2015)

Exhibition: Staging the Ukrainian Avant-Garde of the 1910s and 1920s (The Ukrainian Museum, New York; February 15 - September 13, 2015)

Anatol Petrytsky, Dance costume sketches for Eccentric Dances, 1922.

http://www.ukrainianmuseum.org/exhibit.html
The Ukrainian Museum is pleased to announce the opening of the exhibition Staging the Ukrainian Avant-Garde of the 1910s and 1920s, curated by Myroslava M. Mudrak (The Ohio State University) and Tetiana Rudenko (The Museum of Theater, Music, and Cinema Arts of Ukraine). The exhibition, which runs from February 15 to September 13, 2015, is the first of its kind outside Ukraine to feature important contributions to the theater arts in the early 20th century by modern Ukrainian painters.

Energetic Futurist costumes and a totalizing transformation of theatrical space tell the story of a movement that generated innovation, entrepreneurship, and social engagement with contemporary issues. Three aspects of stage design are specifically highlighted: the collaborative projects of experimental theater and dance studios where the cubo-futurist painter Alexandra Exter and dancer and choreographer Bronislava Nijinska revolutionized the balletic stage; the productions of Berezil (1922–1933), which, along with their premier designer, Vadym Meller, shaped the distinct modernist theatrical landscape of theater in Ukraine; and the singularly rich works of Anatol Petrytsky, who exploited Ukraine’s own culture, traditions, and customs. More than 125 original works borrowed from The Museum of Theater, Music, and Cinema Arts of Ukraine in Kyiv and therefore rarely, if ever, seen in the US, constitute the body of the show.

University faculty and students are encouraged to visit the Ukrainian Museum and to consider holding a session of a seminar or lecture course at the Museum. Curator Myroslava Mudrak is planning a symposium with scholars on the topic of the theatrical avant-garde for April in the Ukrainian Museum.
Also of note is the conference “Kharkiv, City of Ukrainian Culture,” featuring writer Serhii Zhadan and taking place in March 2015 at Columbia University and the Ukrainian Museum. Contact Ali Kinsella with questions concerning scheduling or any other aspect of the exhibition.

A review of the exhibition by SHERA member Natasha Kurchanova can be found here.

Share this