.png)
History
The Scenography Gallery is an art gallery dedicated to scenography, the art of theatrical space and costume. We were established in 2017, and since then we have been functioning as an organisational and communication platform for Ukrainian artists. The gallery focuses on the art of scenography and theatre costume.
Founders and start-up
The background and impetus for the creation of the Scenography Gallery was the exhibition of scenography by Bohdan and Olena Polishchuk, which was organised at the initiative of Oleh Oneshchak and Yulia Glushko at their Children's Centre for Contemporary Art AGOV in 2016. This event received a positive response in professional theatre circles in Lviv and attracted the attention of a wide audience.
So, inspired and passionate about creating a living art space in Lviv, three young people: actor Oleh Oneshchak, manager Yulia Glushko and artist Bohdan Polishchuk, co-founded a new NGO, Scenography Gallery.
Art gallery
In its first period, the Scenography Gallery really functioned as an art gallery in the premises of the Lesi Theater at the address of Lviv, str. Horodotska 36. The main efforts of the first years were directed at the idea of creating a space in which scenography exhibitions would always take place with the stated frequency. After all, at that time the presence of the art of scenography both in the gallery and in the art and information space was minimal.
At least once every two months, the gallery offered visitors a new exhibition, inviting the leading artists of the Ukrainian theater to cooperate.
Subsequently, the Scenography Gallery received the support of the Lviv City Council, which made it possible to gradually improve the conditions of cooperation with artists and raise the level of project implementation.
Artistic platform
In 2018, our team founded and first held the International Lviv Quadriennale of Scenography, which was held for the second time in 2021 and brought together many Ukrainian and foreign scenographers, costume designers, art historians, theatre critics, performers and other artists. To date, the Scenography Gallery has already organised the Ukrainian National Pavilion at the Tbilisi Biennale of Scenography three times (2020, 2022, 2024) and is a partner in organising the Residence of Ukrainian Scenographers in Georgia in 2022.
Another important area in which the Gallery started working is publishing projects. The first attempt in this direction was the release of a set of gift cards with sketches by Ukrainian theatre artists. And in 2021, a high-quality art album ‘Ukrainian Theatre Costume of the XX-XXI Centuries. Sketches’ in partnership with the Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Ukraine and publisher Oleksandr Savchuk. This publication was presented not only in Ukraine but also abroad, and was included in the list of the best art publications of 2021 according to PEN Ukraine, as well as in the list of international publications in the field of scenography, awarded by the organisers of the Prague Quadriennale 2023.
In 2024, the art album Ukrainian Theatre Costume of the XX-XXI Centuries. Sketches’ was reprinted in a larger edition and is now available in bookstores and on the publisher's website. The next edition ‘Ukrainian Theatre Costume of the 20th-21st Centuries: Identity, Context, Landscape’ was also published. You can view it on our website.
In 2024, the art album Ukrainian Theatre Costume of the XX-XXI Centuries. Sketches’ was reprinted in a larger edition and is now available in bookstores and on the publisher's website. The next edition ‘Ukrainian Theatre Costume of the 20th-21st Centuries: Identity, Context, Landscape’ was also published. You can view it on our website.
In 2023, the Scenography Gallery organised the National Pavilion at the landmark international event - the Prague Quadrennial of Scenography. The projects of the Scenography Gallery have been repeatedly supported by the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation and partner institutions, such as the aforementioned Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Ukraine, state and national theatres and museums of Ukraine, the Union of Young Theater Artists of Georgia, the D. Liter Triennial of Scenography in Kyiv, and the UAscenography Forum. In December, the project ‘Art in Time of War: Travelling Residence’ project was implemented in December together with Ukrainian and European partners. The project was funded from the Stabilisation Fund for Culture and Education 2023 by the German Federal Foreign Office and the Goethe-Institut. The residency brought together artists, researchers, scholars, and museum workers from Ukraine, Georgia, the UK, Poland, and Lithuania for cultural exchange, communication, and long-term partnership.
In 2024, we implemented the project ‘Ukrainian Theatre Costume of the XX-XXI Centuries’ in partnership with the Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Ukraine, the PLACE ID Territorial Marketing Development Foundation (Poland), in cooperation with the Dzyga Art Centre (Lviv) and the Rozdroża Centre for Intercultural Creative Initiatives (Lublin), with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation and the Ukrainian Institute.
Performances and exhibitions
The Scenography Gallery also organises and produces performances and productions. The first successfully implemented projects were performances: ‘Interview with a Friend’ by A. Bondarenko, directed by O. Oneshchak, set designer V. Stetskovych. The play was shown for a long time in Lviv, and the play ‘A Girl from Hiroshima, Scared of Thunder’ by Hisashi Inoue, directed and set designed by Bohdan Polishchuk and composed by Yana Shlyabanska. The play was created in partnership with the Les Kurbas National Centre for Theatre Arts of Ukraine, with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation. In addition to a series of monthly performances at the Kurbas National Centre for Theatre Arts, the play was also staged at the State Youth Theatre in Vilnius (Lithuania).
In 2024, the theatrical performance ‘Mr Schoenberg's Bizarre Tales’ was realised in partnership with the NGO Studio Fugue / PUC - Pop Up Collective (Vienna, Austria). Directed by Bohdan Polishchuk, artist Olena Polishchuk, lighting designer Serhii Ohrudnytskyi. The project became the winner of the Per Forma grant programme, implemented by the Kyiv Contemporary Music Days platform with the support of the Performing Arts Fund NL and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands to develop the performing arts sector in Ukraine. The shows took place on 30 and 31 October in Kyiv and Lviv.
Everything is just beginning!
Today, the Scenography Gallery focuses on supporting Ukrainian set and costume designers, establishing their professional communication, promoting and popularising the art of scenography and theatre costume through the organisation of contemporary educational projects. The Scenography Gallery's goal today is also to promote Ukrainian culture and art, in particular scenography, theatre costume, and theatre. Formation of a positive image of Ukraine as an original and powerful participant in European cultural processes.
To be continued
Everything is just beginning