Culture

As Paris positioned itself as a capital of contemporary art, one booth at Art Basel offered something different: reflection over spectacle. Ukrainian artist Mykyta Kadan stood out with a solo project presented by Voloshyn Gallery (Kyiv) and Galerie Poggi (Paris). Rooted in the experience of war, his drawings, sculptures, and installations explored how Ukraine’s recent history shapes its deeply grounded art scene.

The Bayeux War Correspondents’ Award highlights the crucial role of photojournalism in a world dominated by social media, featuring powerful exhibitions and tributes to journalists like Antoni Lallican, killed by a Russian FPV drone on the Ukrainian frontline.

The seaside festival opened without the sea—in Kyiv instead of Odesa—with a program stretching from choreography to the front line, for a public that needs a breather as much as the truth.

Glyadyelov’s new retrospective spans 35 years of Ukraine’s momentous history. But it is in the quiet, lived moments—the exhaled breath of a city under fire—that his photographs truly resonate.

Ai Weiwei’s new installation, Three Perfectly Proportioned Spheres and Camouflage Uniforms Painted White, opened September 14 in Kyiv’s Pavilion 13. It confronts Russia’s war in Ukraine with stark symbolism and calls for reflection on violence and peace.

Despite Russia being excluded from most international festivals since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian flag reappeared on the roof of the Palazzo del Cinema on the Venice Film Festival’s opening day—reviving questions about Moscow’s political, economic, and cultural influence at major international events.