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A composite image of the Hryhorii Skovoroda Museum before and after its destruction on May 6, 2022. The top half shows the museum intact, a yellow and white neoclassical-style building surrounded by green trees. The bottom half depicts the aftermath of destruction, with a charred statue of Hryhorii Skovoroda standing amidst the ruins of the building, which has collapsed walls and a burnt-out roof. The image includes text from the Ukrainian Institute highlighting the cultural loss.

Protecting Cultural Heritage and Decolonising our understanding of Ukraine

Dr Tetyana Filevska, the Creative Director of the Ukrainian Institute in Kyiv and heritage consultant and independent curator Maria Blyzinsky spoke with specific reference to the current war in Ukraine, highlighting issues surrounding the protection of cultural heritage in war and conflict.

Tetyana explained how using the theoretical framework of decolonisation allows us to understand the situation in Ukraine with greater clarity: Ukraine’s cultural and artistic heritage has fallen into a ‘blindspot’ for many outside Ukraine because it has been presented through the prism of Russian colonialism. The current war is a Russian attempt to regain its former colony and is being waged, in part, through the destruction of monuments, museums, language and literature. Tetyana advocated for a deeper and more accurate understanding of Ukrainian objects held in collections around the world, and encouraged us to see that practical help is one concrete way in which we as museums and heritage professionals can bring about this change. By giving several examples of situations where language, historical accuracy and local knowledge had been sidelined or ignored she made a strong argument that such mis-representation perpetuates the misunderstanding of Ukraine’s cultural identity in the wider world.

Maria talked us through some of the responses and possible solutions that she, Tetyana and their colleagues had developed. These included the series of ‘In Crisis’ talks created with ICOM and the Red List which outlines those cultural artefacts which are vulnerable to illicit trafficking, particularly in times of conflict. Please share it with colleagues and beyond. She emphasised how important it is for all of us to be aware of the provenance of items we encounter, and mentioned the role auction houses can play in limiting the illicit trade and movement of artefacts. She also discussed the many benefits of providing professional development opportunities for heritage professionals who have fled Ukraine, and urged us to consider this whenever possible.

This was a talk that reflected an invasion, not simply by military, but a ‘genocide of culture’. It offered a stark warning about how cultural heritage can be politicised and weaponised. Yet the talk also offered practical ways in which we can all contribute to a greater understanding of the situation. The take home message was that we can always be more inquisitive, and sometimes it doesn’t take much to find out the truth about collections and the culture it represents.

Still interested? We hope so…

Thank you to those who attended and donated £1 of their ticket price to help raise funds for United24.

Katherine Nichols