Drawing directly on Ukraine’s experience during Russia’s invasion and occupation, the discussion will examine both the destruction of Ukrainian cultural heritage and the measures taken by Ukrainian institutions and their international partners to protect it. Museums and cultural institutions become valuable targets within the setting of a large-scale war, and control of the narrative plays an important role for both sides. “When Russians enter a Ukrainian city, they first look for the military; then they search for the museum directors,” said Milena Chorna.
The program will consider what museums and cultural institutions around the world can learn from Ukraine’s response, when developing their own emergency-preparedness strategies to prepare for, and respond to, possible future crises.
About the panelists:
Panelists include Milena Chorna, Co-founder and Head of the Association of Ukrainian Museums; Kateryna Chuyeva, Museum Expert and Board Member of the Ukrainian Association of Archaeologists, former Vice-Minister of Culture of Ukraine; Kateryna Kulai, Director of the Odesa National Fine Arts Museum; Ihor Poshyvailo, PhD, Director General of the Maidan Museum and Co-founder of HERI and ACURE; and Arnoud Odding, Strategic Advisor to the Dutch museum and cultural-heritage sector. The discussion will be moderated by retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer Glen Davis, whose final tour was as Director of the Cultural Heritage Center in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
About the organizers:
This event is hosted by The Peale, a community museum located in Baltimore, MD USA, in collaboration with Baltimore Sister Cities (Odesa and Rotterdam Sister City Committees) and America Houses in Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa.
