19. Mostra Internazionale di Architettura – Padiglione Ucraino
Il progetto DAKH (ДАХ): Vernacular Hardcore rappresenta l’Ucraina alla Biennale Architettura di Venezia.
Comunicato stampa
DAKH (ДАХ): Vernacular Hardcore.
Inauguration
The inauguration will feature speeches from key figures, marking the official start of the exhibition.
Date: 8 May 2025
Time: 14:15–15:00
Location: Arsenale di Venezia, Sale d'Armi, Building A
RSVP: https://forms.gle/2qhCMoiE6rqjV1x2A
Speakers include:
Olena Zelenska, First Lady of Ukraine (video address)
Yaroslav Melnyk, Ambassador of Ukraine to Italy
Aliona Shkrum, Deputy Minister of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine
Mariana Betsa, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
Volodymyr Sheiko, Director General of the Ukrainian Institute
Tetyana Filevska, Commissioner of the Ukrainian Pavilion, Creative Director of the Ukrainian Institute
Bogdana Kosmina, architect, co-curator of the Ukrainian Pavilion
Michał Murawski, co-curator of the Ukrainian Pavilion
Kateryna Rusetska, co-curator of the Ukrainian Pavilion
Press Conference
Media representatives and industry professionals are invited to the official press conference of the Ukrainian Pavilion. The conference will feature the curatorial team and contributors to the DAKH (ДАХ): Vernacular Hardcore exhibition.
Date: 8 May 2025
Time: 18:00–19:00
Location: Spazio Thetis, Arsenale Nord
RSVP: https://forms.gle/ZPUA7FcUoFd7CRh57
Speakers include:
Tetyana Filevska, Commissioner of the Ukrainian Pavilion, Creative Director of the Ukrainian Institute
Bogdana Kosmina, architect, co-curator of the Ukrainian Pavilion
Michał Murawski, co-curator of the Ukrainian Pavilion
Kateryna Rusetska, co-curator of the Ukrainian Pavilion
Yevgenia Belorusets, artist and writer
Kseniia Kalmus, CEO & Founder, KLYN Drones
Oksana Kosmina, architect, artist, ethnologist, and historian of material culture
Clemens Poole, Sound curator, artist, and Drone for Drones curator
Ada Wordsworth, director, KHARPP
Opening Reception & Concert
Join us for an evening of celebration featuring a reception and live performances by Ukrainian and international artists, including:
Heinali and Andriana-Yaroslava Saienko, presents Гільдеґарда (‘Hildegard’ in Ukrainian) — the unique reimagining of Hildegard von Bingen's music.
Maryana Klochko enriches the Ukrainian scene with a unique contemporary reading of Ukrainian folklore sounds heritage.
Sofi Naufal is a British-Lebanese musician based in Brussels and originally from London. She writes lo-fi songs via voice, prepared guitar, samples and synthesiser, conjuring a dark, folk-like melodrama that wanders off into ambient layers, drifting between melodies, looped vocals, protest chants, drum breaks and snippets of overheard conversation.
Date: 8 May 2025
Time: 19:00–23:00
Location: Spazio Thetis, Arsenale Nord
RSVP: https://forms.gle/AKGUkoyGxxh9AzVy8
Planetary Hardcore: Public Program Launch
Date: 10 May 2025
Location: The Library, Scuola Grande di San Marco, Campo dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, 6777, 30122 Venezia
RSVP: https://forms.gle/ck7wVLVshz6zVEH67
Architecture and Transhuman (Female) Intelligence
Time: 16:00–16:45
The Atlas of Ukrainian Traditional Housing is an ongoing research project conducted for over 50 years by three generations of Ukrainian female architects and ethnographers: Tamara (1932-2016), Oksana (born 1960) and Bogdana (born 1990) Kosmina. The opening conversation of the Planetary Hardcore public programme brings together the three Kosminas in a transhuman conversation. Together, they explore the materialities, intelligences and emotions that characterise the three levels of the “vernacular” explored in Dakh: the heritage vernacular (architecture without architects); the emergency vernacular (reconstruction without peace); and vernacular resistance (shelter without security).
Participants:
Bogdana Kosmina (curator of the Ukrainian Pavilion, architect & artist)
Oksana Kosmina (architect, artist, ethnologist, and historian of material culture)
AI Tamara Kosmina (AI avatar of architect and ethnographer Tamara Kosmina (1936—2016), who preserved vernacular architecture through decades of expeditions across Ukraine)
Moderated by Carlo Ratti (curator of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition)
Planetary Hardcore: Solidarity, Repair, Resistance
Time: 17:00–18:30
Planetary Hardcore builds connection between places in which kindred labours of self-organised repair and reconstruction coalesce in the midst of war. The neighbourly connection between the Ukrainian and Lebanese pavilions functions as a point of departure from which to discuss the potentials (and perils) of solidarity-through-repair across diverse geographical contexts and geopolitical faultlines.
Several (hard)core themes animate the discussion: how does the experience of the emergency vernacular (grassroots reconstruction, and so-called “self-organisation” in general) differ across places subjected to war? How does the wartime “hardcore” — the many layers of the (besieged but unyielding) geological, social and built fabric, from the soil to the roof to the drone canopy—function as a site of radical (rooted) commoning: as a vessel in which memory and evidence are held, and as a terrain from which resistance may spring? How, finally, can the emergency collectivity which coalesces under the volatile conditions of war be converted into a sustainable, equitable and just social settlement?
Participants:
Elia Ayoub (journalist, founder of From the Periphery media collective and Hauntologies.net)
Collective for Architecture Lebanon (architects and theorists, curators of the Lebanese pavilion)
Kseniia Kalmus (co-founder of Livij Bereh, founder of Klyn drones)
Dima Srouji (architect and researcher, Royal College of Art, London)
Husam Abusalem (University of South-Eastern Norway) & Emlio Distretti (Royal College of Art, London)
Yuliya Yurchenko (economist, University of Greenwich; activist, Ukrainian Social Movement)
Moderated by Michał Murawski and Kateryna Rusetska (co-curators of the Ukrainian pavilion)
NOTES TO THE EDITOR:
DAKH (ДАХ): Vernacular Hardcore explores the intersection of traditional architecture and improvised construction methods used during wartime. The pavilion will present the "emergency vernacular" concept as a key response to war's destruction, emphasising resilience through collective action, self-organisation, and solidarity. The exhibition will highlight works by Ukrainian artists and volunteers, documenting grassroots rebuilding efforts amidst ongoing conflict.
Exhibition title: DAKH (ДАХ): Vernacular Hardcore
Commissioner: Tetyana Filevska, Creative Director of the Ukrainian Institute
Curators: Bogdana Kosmina, architect; Kateryna Rusetska; Michał Murawski
Architects & ethnographers: Oksana Kosmina, Tamara Kosmina
Producer: Ilona Demchenko
Project team: Yevgenia Belorusets (artist/consultant); DRONES FOR DRONES, a series of drone music compilations, curated by artist Clemens Poole for Kyivpastrans Records and released in collaboration with Fallout Noise volunteer collective; Vladyslav Sharapa (artist/consultant); Kseniia Kalmus (artist/consultant); Ihor Okuniev (artist/consultant); Ada Wordsworth (artist/consultant); Clemens Poole (sound curator) and Dmytro Vortman (cartographer)
Date: 10 May–23 November 2025
Venue: Arsenale, Sale d'Armi, building A, 1st floor
For the next six years, the Ukrainian Institute will serve as the commissioner of the Ukrainian pavilion at the International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, supported by the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
Partners: Roberto Bianconi Atelieritaliano, Comune Di Venezia, Thetis, Scuola Grande San Marco
ABOUT THE UKRAINIAN INSTITUTE:
The Ukrainian Institute is a state institution acting in the field of cultural diplomacy. The institution’s activities are aimed at improving the understanding and perception of Ukraine in the world and the development of its cultural ties with other countries. Established by the Government of Ukraine, the Institute operates under the administration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
@ukrainian_institute
www.ui.org.ua
ABOUT RIBBON INTERNATIONAL:
RIBBON International is a platform supporting historic and contemporary Ukrainian arts and culture in the form of exhibitions, artist commissions, public programs and grants. RIBBON runs through Ukraine by way of its railway system and aims to provide support to the endangered legacies of Ukraine's cultural and artistic heritage, as well as to artists, cultural producers, contemporary culture and institutions throughout Ukraine in their fight for cultural autonomy.
@ribboninternational
www.ribbon-int.org
