FREEDOM—FEAR—FREEDOM: Art of Transformation in Times of War & Conflict
Daria Pugachova, 2023
Photo Credit: Hosein Danesh
A Presentation by Ukrainian Artist Daria Pugachova
Tuesday, November 12
2:20-3:40
Sherman Hall, Hassenfeld Conference Center
Daria Pugachova is an interdisciplinary artist and art activist from Ukraine. Her artistic approach prioritizes the presence of the artist and direct interaction with audiences in public spaces. Daria studied architecture at the Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture, and played drums for many years in the band Panivalkova.
Daria’s work has been featured in exhibitions in Ukraine, Bulgaria, Germany, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Switzerland, and the United States. Her latest projects are based on her experiences of war, exploring topics of freedom and limitation, and this is what she’ll focus on in her artist talk here.
Daria was one of five finalists for the 2024 INSPIRE Art Award of the Peace Research Institute Oslo – selected from among artists from around the world who have responded to the lived experience of violent conflict and/or displacement in their art, in any and all media.
For her Cities of War project, Daria shipped a plexiglass cube from Ukraine to The Netherlands. She set it up in front of the International Court of Justice as they were debating whether Russia was committing genocide in Ukraine. She climbed inside the cube, and, with a black marker, started writing (in English): “The war in Ukraine is still going on. The war in Ukraine is still going on. The war in Ukraine is still going on.” She did this for five hours until the clear walls of the cube were black, filled with writing. She, inside, disappeared, just as Ukraine is disappearing from world headlines, and as aspects of Ukrainian culture and heritage are being targeted for destruction/disappearance by the Russian military. Plus, as she says, “The war paints [Ukrainians’] lives into blackness.”
In our inaugural year of programming (2023-2024), Global Community Engagement opened with the production of a play about Ukraine. We are devastated that the war there is still going on, and honored to bring Daria Pugachova to campus at this time.
A CEC ArtsLink artist-in-residence at the Blaffer Art Museum in Houston, Texas, this Fall, Daria will visit Brandeis upon the conclusion of that residency.
