The legendary contemporary art festival GogolFest will be held in Ukraine for the first time since the beginning of the full-scale war. Find out where and when the festival will take place, what events will be held, and how contemporary art reflects the realities of war in Ukraine

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The GogolFest contemporary art festival is returning to Ukraine after a long pause due to the war. The event will take place on October 18-20, 2024, in Zaporizhzhia, which will be historic for the city, as it will be the first time the festival has been held here. According to festival director Maxim Demsky, the main theme of this year's GogolFest will be the Intercession, a symbolic holiday that emphasizes the protection and honoring of soldiers, as well as the Day of the Ukrainian Cossacks. Participants will honor the fighters for independence and the soldiers who continue to defend Ukraine today. One of the main objectives of this year's Gogolfest Pokróva festival is to engage the military and their families in sharing a common experience.

What is the GogolFest festival known for?

The GogolFest festival was founded in 2007 by Vladyslav Troitskyi. From the beginning, it combined contemporary art forms, including theater, music, performance, film, and educational programs.

Until 2017, it was held only in Kyiv, but later it became a national event and was held in many cities of Ukraine, including Dnipro, Mariupol, Kherson, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Vinnytsia. Interestingly, in 2020 and 2021, the festival participants were transported to Kherson and Dnipro on a special train with thematic decorations. The organizers note that this is the first art train in Europe and it has ambitious plans for the future. In addition, in 2019, GogolFest was named one of the five best festivals in Europe according to the EFFE Awards 2019-2020, and has repeatedly implemented special art programs in Oslo, Berlin, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Prague and other European cities.

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The program of the GogolFest Pokrova 2024 festival

According to the organizers, this year's festival is a space of safety and peace under the shadow of Ukrainianness.

“As part of the festival, we propose to create spaces where people can feel protected, restore inner peace, and feel a shoulder of support through the centuries-old family that covers us,” the website says.

Traditionally, GogolFest will feature performances by well-known Ukrainian bands, including Dakh Daughters, Pirig i Batih, and Zapaska. In addition, the festival will feature several performances:

● The "City of Mary", which, incidentally, will be performed in Ukraine for the first time. It should be noted that by now the play has been shown several times at the largest European theater festival in Avignon, France.
● The play “Mother's Heart: Children Keep Our Tears" by the famous director, founder of the first independent theater in Ukraine, Dakh, Vladyslav Troitsky. This is a Ukrainian-German project that tells the story of the tragedy of mothers whose children are at the front. It's worth noting that right after the GogolFest screening, it will go to Hamburg for a show.

● The "Sunshine People", which has already been shown in several European countries, including Switzerland, Germany, Poland and France.

One of the central events will be the opening of the nine-meter installation “Planting. Tree of Memory”. This is a memorial complex created by Dmytro Kostiuminsky that symbolizes the memory of the fallen defenders of Ukraine. The installation is a metal tree with branches engraved with the names of Ukrainian heroes. The memorial will also serve as a reminder of the courage and self-sacrifice manifested in the fight for freedom.

In addition, the festival program will feature other large-scale art objects, such as the multimedia installation “The Vault of the Shroud” - a place of peace and quiet where you can listen to the works of Ukrainian authors and see the works of Ukrainian artists. It should be noted that this location will also host another art object - an interactive construction made of old suitcases, where each festival participant will be able to leave a part of themselves, adding a special thing to the installation and thus creating a collective memory of the events that forever change our perception of the world.

Security measures and tickets for GogolFest in Zaporizhzhia

The organizers promise to follow all safety rules. In addition, most of the festival events will take place in shelters or buildings equipped with bomb shelters.

More information about the event can be found on the official website of GogolFest.

We remind you! At this year's Burning Man 2024 festival, Ukraine presented an impressive art project that became one of the highlights of the event. The installation “I'm Fine;)” impressed the audience with its scale. Read more about the creation and symbolism of the project in our previous article.

Photo: Yuri Gryaznov / FB GogolFest

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