A Dialogue with Ukrainian Museum Leaders on Defending and Preserving Culture and Identity in a Time of War

On April 28, 2022 from 11:00 am – 12:30 pm ET (18:00 – 19:30 UTC+3), the National Museum of American Diplomacy will host a discussion with Ukrainian museum leaders who will report on efforts to protect their collections and preserve Ukraine’s identity and cultural heritage threatened by Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked war. Director of the Mystetskyi Arsenal in Kyiv, Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta, and Director of the National Maidan Museum Ihor Poshyvailo will join virtually from Ukraine. The session will allow Ukrainian museum leaders to share their experiences and connect with U.S. counterparts, highlighting needs and challenges, and address the meaning of culture and identity amid war and humanitarian crisis. The role of cultural diplomacy and current international efforts to assist in the protection of Ukraine’s cultural heritage will be discussed.

Speakers

Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta
Director General of the Mystetskyi Arsenal
Mystetskyi Arsenal in Kyiv, Ukraine is Ukraine’s flagship cultural institution that brings together various arts – from contemporary art, new music and theater to literature and museum development. The mission of the Mystetskyi Arsenal is to contribute to modernization of Ukrainian society and Ukraine’s integration into the global context based on the potential of Ukrainian culture

Ihor Poshyvailo, Ph.D.
Director General Poshyvailo is the co-founder of the Heritage Emergency Response Initiative (HERI) set up in reaction to the current Russian invasion. He is Director General of the National Memorial and the Revolution of Dignity Museum (Maidan Museum) and Vice-Chairman of ICOM-DRMC.

Lee Satterfield
Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), U.S. Department of State
Assistant Secretary Satterfield oversees the Department’s cultural diplomacy programs and initiatives, including ECA’s Cultural Heritage Center and the Department’s Cultural Heritage Coordinating Committee.

Dr. Richard Kurin
Distinguished Scholar and Ambassador-at-Large
Smithsonian Institution
Dr. Kurin is a member of the Smithsonian’s leadership team and liaison to the U.S. President’s Commission on the Arts and Humanities. He is the founder of the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative and plays a leading role in international efforts to protect cultural heritage threatened by both natural disasters and human conflict.

Moderator

Susan Cleary
Acting Director
National Museum of American Diplomacy

“A Dialogue with Ukrainian Museum Leaders on Defending and Preserving Culture and Identity in a Time of War” will be live-streamed on Thursday, April 28, 2022, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm ET right here on this web page.

Photo: A city resident surrounds the monument to Taras Shevchenko, a famous Ukrainian poet and national symbol of Ukrainian identity and independence, with sandbags to protect it from Russian shelling, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, March 24, 2022. The bronze 16-meter-high monument was erected in 1935, survived WWII and is considered one of the world’s best monuments to Shevchenko. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)