{"id":13220,"date":"2026-01-29T16:34:47","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T13:34:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pastfutureart.org\/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-crimea\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T14:17:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T11:17:36","slug":"what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-crimea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pastfutureart.org\/en\/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-crimea\/","title":{"rendered":"WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT CRIMEA"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
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From March 20 to June 28, 2026, the exhibition <\/b>What We Talk About When We Talk About Crimea<\/i><\/b> took place at the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art<\/a> in Warsaw. The project aims to tell the world about Crimea through the work of Ukrainian artists, in particular Crimean Tatar artists. The exhibition has been commissioned by the Ukrainian Institute and produced by the Past \/ Future \/ Art memory culture platform with the support of the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine. Curators: Kateryna Semenyuk, Oksana Dovgopolova, and Alim Aliev.<\/b><\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\n\n\r\n

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What do we talk about when we talk about Crimea? Sea or steppe? The 1945 Yalta Conference or the Scythian state of antiquity? The Artek Camp for Young Pioneers or the Soviet genocide of the Crimean Tatars in 1944? Vacations by the sea or lost homes? What we see depends on who is looking. The experiences of encountering Crimea can be so different that it might seem people are remembering different continents. Why is this so?<\/span><\/p>\n

The Crimean Peninsula, in the Black Sea, has been a meeting point of different civilisations for millennia. It is the homeland of the Crimean Tatars, who once had their own state there; now, they are once again experiencing colonial pressure. It is a peninsula saturated with fighting, tension, love, and hope. The exhibition explores contemporary Ukrainian artists\u2019 reflections on the loss of Crimea after the Russian occupation of the peninsula in 2014.<\/span><\/p>\n

The project brings together artists of different generations; some of them were born in Crimea, others came to know Crimea through their travels. Sevil\u00e2 Nariman-qizi<\/strong> and Emine Ziyatdin<\/strong> contemplate different dimensions of Crimean Tatar identity amidst the loss of home, and Rustem Skybin<\/strong> adds the theme of resistance and protection of one\u2019s native land. Yuri Yefanov<\/strong> transforms the memory of his hometown, Hurzuf, which is now beyond reach, into a digital simulation of public space, not so much documenting the past as creating possible scenarios of the future. With gratitude and sadness, Anton Shebetko<\/strong> speaks about the LGBT+ community in the rural settlement of Simeiz that used to gather on the local \u201cwild beaches\u201d and in Yezhy caf\u00e9; this world of freedom no longer exists as it did before 2014. The paintings and graphic works of Roman Mykhailov<\/strong>, Elmira Shemsedinova<\/strong>, and Oleksii Borysov<\/strong> each draw the viewer’s attention to the Crimean horizon, inviting closer examination.\u00a0Vitaliy Kokhan\u2019s<\/strong> kinetic sculpture captures the oscillation between one symbol of the peninsula’s significance as a tourist destination and another for the sorrow, resilience, and courage of the Crimean Tatar culture. Oleg Tistol\u2019s<\/strong> ironic reflections on the stereotypical symbols of seaside holidays are embodied in a work from his series <\/span>Southern Coast of Crimea<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>Meanwhile, a somewhat phantasmagoric landscape by Pavlo Makov<\/strong> is among the artist’s earliest works to engage with the recurring theme of place in his practice, interpreted through cartographic, topographical, and metaphorical perspectives. Vlodko Kaufman<\/strong> and Khalil Khalilov\u2019s<\/strong> meditative video attests to the Crimean Tatars’ desire to return home despite the imperial efforts to erase the very memory of their existence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ukrainian artists reflect on what Crimea is for Ukraine. In the Ujazdowski Castle, we ask: what is Crimea for Europe? Adam Mickiewicz once sorrowfully looked at the remains of Crimean Tatar fortresses, feeling their reality turn into the past and remembering his own homeland. Today, what does Europe think about when it thinks about Crimea? And what does Crimea think about?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\n\n\r\n

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Anton Shebetko, from the Simeiz series, 2022\u2014ongoing, photo<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n

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Anton Shebetko, from the Simeiz series, 2022\u2014ongoing, photo<\/p>\r\n <\/figcaption>\r\n <\/figure>\r\n <\/a>\r\n\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n

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Yuri Yefanov, I Watched the Sinusoidal Motion of Blue Electronic Waves until I Sensed Their Smell, 2025, real-time simulation, synthetic plants, wood, textile. The work was created with the participation of Vitaliy Kokhan<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n

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Yuri Yefanov, I Watched the Sinusoidal Motion of Blue Electronic Waves until I Sensed Their Smell, 2025, real-time simulation, synthetic plants, wood, textile. The work was created with the participation of Vitaliy Kokhan<\/p>\r\n <\/figcaption>\r\n <\/figure>\r\n <\/a>\r\n\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n

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Anton Shebetko, from the Simeiz series, 2022\u2014ongoing, photo
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\r\nYuri Yefanov, I Watched the Sinusoidal Motion of Blue Electronic Waves until I Sensed Their Smell, 2025, real-time simulation, synthetic plants, wood, textile. The work was created with the participation of Vitaliy Kokhan<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n <\/section>\r\n\n\n\r\n

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Emine Ziyatdin, I Am a Daughter of My Father, 2025, photographic print on fabric, video, 4\u201948\u201d<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n

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Emine Ziyatdin, I Am a Daughter of My Father, 2025, photographic print on fabric, video, 4\u201948\u201d<\/p>\r\n <\/figcaption>\r\n <\/figure>\r\n <\/a>\r\n\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n

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Sevil\u00e2 Nariman-q\u0131z\u0131, \u2013lar, 2025, coquina, dye sublimation digital print on PVC, metal frame, wallpaper<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n

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Sevil\u00e2 Nariman-q\u0131z\u0131, \u2013lar, 2025, coquina, dye sublimation digital print on PVC, metal frame, wallpaper<\/p>\r\n <\/figcaption>\r\n <\/figure>\r\n <\/a>\r\n\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n

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Emine Ziyatdin, I Am a Daughter of My Father, 2025, photographic print on fabric, video, 4\u201948\u201d
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Oleksii Borysov, My Sea, 2014\u2014ongoing, mixed media on canvas and paper<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n

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Oleksii Borysov, My Sea, 2014\u2014ongoing, mixed media on canvas and paper<\/p>\r\n <\/figcaption>\r\n <\/figure>\r\n <\/a>\r\n\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n

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Vitaliy Kokhan, Cypress Tree, 2024, kinetic sculpture, metal<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n

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Vitaliy Kokhan, Cypress Tree, 2024, kinetic sculpture, metal<\/p>\r\n <\/figcaption>\r\n <\/figure>\r\n <\/a>\r\n\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n

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Oleksii Borysov, My Sea, 2014\u2014ongoing, mixed media on canvas and paper
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\r\nVitaliy Kokhan, Cypress Tree, 2024, kinetic sculpture, metal<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n <\/section>\r\n\n\n\r\n

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PUBLIC PROGRAMME<\/h2>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
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CRIMEA AS A SOURCE OF STRENGTH IN THE EUROPEAN POLITICAL IMAGINATION
\nPanel discussion<\/strong><\/p>\n

17 May, 16:00
\nDom Spotka\u0144 z Histori\u0105, Warsaw<\/p>\n

Speakers: Alex Bykov, Oleksandr Galenko, \u041e\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0430\u043d\u0434\u0440 \u0413\u0430\u043b\u0435\u043d\u043a\u043e, Nedim Useinow
\nModerator: Oksana Dovgopolova<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\r\n

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European countries have perceived Crimea in very different ways across the centuries. In the 18th century, the German philosopher Johann Gottfried von Herder was convinced that a new European civilisation was emerging precisely in Crimea. In the 19th century, the Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz lamented its \u201cformer\u201d glory. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union shaped for the world an image of Crimea as a showcase of a socialist paradise. The discussion participants will explore the centuries-long intertwining of the destinies of the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar peoples.<\/p>\n

Alex Bykov <\/strong>\u2014 architect and researcher of 20th century Ukrainian architecture; Oleksandr Galenko <\/strong>\u2014 PhD in History, Professor at Kyiv School of Economics; Nedim Useinow<\/strong> \u2014 Representative of the Coordinating Council of the World Congress of Crimean Tatars in Poland, Program Manager at The German Marshall Fund of the United States, Visiting Lecturer at University of Warsaw; Oksana Dovgopolova<\/strong> \u2014 Co-founder and Curator of the Past \/ Future \/ Art memory culture platform, PhD, Professor at Kyiv School of Economics, member of the Memory Studies Association.<\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\n\n\r\n

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CRIMEA IN THE FUTURE OF UKRAINE, EUROPE, AND THE WORLD
\nPanel discussion<\/strong><\/p>\n

17 May, 18:00
\nDom Spotka\u0144 z Histori\u0105, Warsaw<\/p>\n

Speakers: Elmira Muratova, Sevgil Musaieva, Joanna Getka
\nModerator: Alim Aliev<\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n

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When we talk about Crimea, we are not speaking only\u2014or even mainly\u2014about a territory; we are speaking about the people for whom Crimea is home, a place that inspires and gives strength. The Crimean Tatar people were deprived of their homeland for decades due to Soviet repression, and today they remain divided as a result of the temporary occupation. How do those currently in Crimea, and those living outside its borders, envision the future? And does Europe recognise the need for the cognitive de-occupation of Crimea?<\/p>\n

Elmira Muratova<\/strong> \u2014 PhD in Political Science, researcher of Islam and interethnic relations in Crimea; Sevgil Musaieva<\/strong> \u2014 Ukrainian journalist, Editor-in-Chief of Ukrainska Pravda (lit. ‘Ukrainian truth’) socio-political online media outlet; Joanna Getka<\/strong> \u2014 Prof., Director of the Institute of Central and Eastern Europe Intercultural Studies, Faculty of Applied Linguistics, University of Warsaw; Alim Aliev <\/strong>\u2014 Deputy Director General of the Ukrainian Institute, Founder of the Crimean Fig literary project, human rights defender, curator of educational and cultural projects, researcher, essayist, Member of PEN Ukraine, Co-founder of Crimea SOS NGO.<\/p>\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\n\n\r\n

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