Mariupol City of Hope
TheaterFest and Exhibition
8.-11.12.2022
Mariupol
Among the innumerous Ukrainian cities attacked and destroyed by Russian aggression Mariupol probably suffered the worst: aim of heavy bombing from the first day of the war, for months under siege and finally, after a heroic battle of defense, fallen to Russian soldiers.
Today up to 90% of the formerly proud harbor city in Donbass is destroyed, many of its former citizens live in diaspora – the city Mariupol got cut off from the world. Mariupol became a symbol of the fierce resistance of the city against its aggressors, “Mariupol is Ukraine” became a well-known slogan throughout the world.
Mariupol – City of Hope?
How can we talk about hope when the present situation so obviously seems hopeless? When the dead of Mariupol are yet uncounted, when the number of Mariupol children who grow up without their parents is yet unknown, when the effort that it will take to free Mariupol is yet unimaginable? And still we would like to talk about hope, because hope is what we need most when circumstances are worst. Light is what we need most when the night is darkest. We would like to talk about hope because of the people of Mariupol, who, instead of being broken and desperate, keep on fighting, dreaming and planning for the liberation and resurrection of their home city.
Program
8. December
18.00 Opening Event with concert & speeches (Lobby)
Screening of Animated Shortfilm “Mariupol. A Hundred Nights” by Sofiia Melnyk. (Premiere)
19:00 Gallery Opening with speech by Curator Tanya Stas and presentation of “The Scroll of Ukrainian Liberty” by Maksym Demskyi and Anna Basova
9. December
15:00 Exhibition (gallery 2)
20:00 Teatromanyia: “The Shadows of forgotten Ancestors” (theatre)
10. December
16:30 Exhibition (gallery 2)
16:00 “MEMORIUPOL” Film Screening and Discussion with Platform “Tyu Mariupol” (Conference Room)
18:00 ogalala kreuzberg: “The Palace of Silence” (gallery 2)
20:00 Teatromanyia: “The Shadows of forgotten Ancestors” (theatre)
11. December
15:00 Exhibition (gallery 2)
18:00 ogalala kreuzberg: “The Palace of Silence” (gallery 2)
20:00 “ALASKA” (theatre)
We want to talk about hope…
…because of the theatre.
The “Center of Contemporary Art Hotel Continental” in Mariupol, to which our new Art Space in Berlin refers, was completely destroyed in March 2022.
“Hotel Continental” was home to many different artist groups and two theatres, the alternative young company “Teatromanyia” and the “First Theatre School-Studio for Children”, also called “Puppet Theatre”. In the frame of the festival we will re-unite the members of the two companies “Teatromanyia” and “Puppet Theatre” in Berlin, who lhave not only lost their homes, but also their artistic families and their theatre. The young artists will come from Poland, Czech Republic, Finland, Austria, Germany and Ukraine to meet in Berlin, rehearse and show the last plays they did together before the war.
.
Opening Event
Mariupol. A Hundred Nights
Animanted shortfilm by Sofiia Melnyk (premiere)
8.12.2022 18:00 (lobby)
Mariupol. A Hundred Nights» tells us the story of a little girl, who wakes up on February 24th because of the air alert and tries to find someone living in the burning city. The main character is based on the story of Alice, a 4 year-old girl, who stayed in the blocked Mariupol during the whole time, she was also at Azovstal during the last month of defense. When russians allowed the evacuation of civilians from Asovstal, Alice was separated from her mother. A poem used in the film is «The wheels, the wheels, they hit the road» by Vasyl Stus who was a Ukrainian poet and an active member of the dissident movement in the 60's and 70's.
Director and illustrator: Sofiia Melnyk
Idea and Curator: Andrii Palatnyi
FREE ENTRY
.
Theatre
The Shadows of forgotten Ancestors
Teatromanyia (Mariupol)
9./10. 12. 20:00
The alternative Youth Theatre “Teatromaniya” is a modern company which seeks new forms of dialogue with the audience. Founded in 2011 by its director Anton Telbizov, the company adresses contemporary social and cultural issues. The plays by Teatromaniya are poetic in style and ambitiuos in content at the same time.
“The Shadows of forgotten Ancestors”, a Ukrainian version of “Romeo and Juliet” is one of the last big plays the company did together and recieved much acclaim in Ukraine. A Love story of Marichka and Ivan among the digital woods and fairy figures between the 19th and 21rst century, where the dead meet the living.
Directors: Anton Telbizov, Olga Samoilova. With german end english subtitles.
FREE ENTRY. PLEASE BOOK YOUR TICKET:
.
ALASKA
First Theatre Studio-School (Mariupol)
11. 12. 20:00
A performance about the pursuit of happiness and security in an abusive world.
Created by the greek director Evangelos Kosmidis, ALASKA connects interviews with the young members of the play with great literature and poetry. Along with the purely personal testimonies of the members of the group we will hear texts by Roland Bart, John Green, Sibylle Berg, Elise Wilk, Jorge Bucay, Maria Polidouri, Kostas Kariotakis, Pinelopi Delta.
In the performance we hear Ukrainian, Italian, Greek, Russian, Polish and Roumanci songs - the language of the Greeks of Ukraine.
Director: Evangelos Kosmidis. With english subtitles.
FREE ENTRY. PLEASE BOOK YOUR TICKET:
.
.
The Palace of Silence
ogalala kreuzberg (Berlin)
10/11. 12. 18:00 gallery 2
“The Palace of Silence” is a short fairy tale about a king living alone in his castle, unable to hear or understand the voices of his people. Envious to their talks and laughter, the king simply deprives his people of their voices, taking them with him to his castle and locking them up for ever. A great silnece comes over the world. Until one day….
“The Palace of Silence” was base for the play “Mariupol Rhapsody”, a cooperation between Teatromanyia and ogalala kreuzberg, which had premiere in may, 2021 in Mariupol. Under the impressions of current events the text will be re-read and put into scene as a site-specific installation under the “Scroll of Ukrainian Liberty” in the gallery space 2.
Director: Christine Dissmann // Choreography: Kathinka Sonneborn
FREE ENTRY.
Exhibition
Scroll of Ukrainian Liberty
A dialog about freedom GALLERY
In 2004 during the “Orange Revolution” Ukrainian society presented an open letter to Vladimir Putin in the shape of an 65m long orange banner, created on Maidan by citizens from all over the country. (“The Orange Scroll”).
During second Maidan in 2013/2014 a second letter was written to Ex-President Viktor Yanukovich expressing the wish to follow the European and democratic direction in the country's development.
In May-June 2022 Ukrainians wrote a third letter. The “Yellow scroll” is about Ukrainian dreams of their future, with whom to unite and what to fight for.
“Hotel Continental - Art Space in Exile” is proud to host the original “Orange Scroll” in gallery spaces. Along with it we offer the Berlin audience to write about their wishes for Ukraine on a “Blue Scroll”.
"During the exhibition, the documentary film "Feeling of the Maidan" about the Revolution of Dignity in 2013-2014, which was created by Hromadske for the 8th anniversary of the Maydan, will be shown on the screen. The film includes unique archival footage shot by the Hromadske team during the Revolution of Dignity."
Curator: Maksym Demskyi // Coordination: Anna Basova // Technical Support: Evhenyi Bal
FREE ENTRY
Big Data Algorithms
Stas Zhalobniuk GALLERY
“Big Data Algorithms” is a reflection by artist Stas Zhalobniuk on a major problem in the city of Mariupol. A series of paintings and an installation of collages from photos an old album of the Mariupol family, which was evacuated to Odessa and found shelter in the artist's house. Fleeing from the occupation, they took the most necessary things and an old family album.
The project entitled "Big Data Algorithms" shows a standard model of human life from birth to death, in which war intervened. This is the memory of people that may not be remebered by anyone.
Artifacts of Zero
Evhen Bal (Kyiv)
After the russian invasion to Ukraine, Evhen Bal, actor, performer, songwriter and stage designer started working as a fixer with french journalists.
At some point he started to collect the real artifacts of war, i.e. fragments of shells, grenades and rockets. After returning home he made the series of anti-war objects which called "Artifacts of Zero".
The objects are a combination of everyday peaceful things and those fragments, they arose as a result of the transformation of acute experiences into simple visual forms.
Taras Tolstikov
Born in 1993 in Donetsk, Taras Tolstikov discovered art for himself at a very early age.
Due to the the Russian intervention in the Eastern part of Ukraine, HE decided in 2014 to move to Odesa, and later Kyiv, where he obtained a bachelors degree in architecture. Since the beginning of war Tolstikov worked on different project related to the war.
Among other works, Tolstikov presents his work “BLACKOUT” (Chipboard, soot, blow torch) as an abstract but powerful reference to the burnt building facades of Mariupol at ther exhibition.
The name “BLACKOUT” also refers to the faxct, that after 28th of february, when the siege of Mariupol began, the city was completely cut off from the electricity, water, gas and signal for the next two months.
Talks
TALK: Memoriupol
Film screening, Presentation and Discussion by Tu Mariupol
10.12. 16:00 Conference Room
On 10th of December we take a look into the rich, diverse and intercultural history of this city - which was mainly unknown to many Western Europeans before the beginning of the war. We dive into contemporary arts, various urban communities, the industrial and cultural heritage.
Films shown are directed by various Ukrainian professional and emerging filmmakers with Platform TU in between 2021 and 2022: They tell stories of everyday life, dreams about the future and the past, realities of the war. Platform Tu was an independent art-space in Mariupol between 2016-2022, aimed to promoting human rights and freedoms through grassroots culture, local activism, and modern arts, and building the community of young creative and open-minded people.
The participants of the discussion - the team of art-platform Tu Mariupol, who managed to escape the besieged city and survived the blockade. You will be able to talk to real people who faced the atrocities of this war and russian genocide of Mariupol city. FREE ENTRY
Supported by:
