We are delighted to announce a new exhibition and research project, which the Scenography Gallery has already begun work on!

Set design by Mykhailo Frenkel for the play ‘Mykyta the Fox’ based on the fairy tale by Ivan Franko. Ivan Franko Theatre (Kyiv), 1967–1968. From the collection of the Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Ukraine. Photograph by Bohdan Poshyvailo

‘Shared Stage’ — a project we are carrying out with our long-standing friend and partner — the Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Ukraine, in partnership with UNESCO, as part of an initiative to preserve the Jewish documentary heritage in Ukraine.

This autumn, we will be inviting you to take part in online and offline events, including the opening of a final exhibition in the Museum’s galleries (in Kyiv), which will showcase works by seven 20th-century Ukrainian artists whose lives and creative output reflect the significant processes of mutual influence and enrichment between Ukrainian and Jewish cultures in the context of the development of Ukrainian theatre:

🔸 Marko Epstein — a Cubist and Expressionist, member of the Kultur-Liga, worked at the Kharkiv Jewish Theatre;

🔸 Nison Shifrin — a member of the Kultur-Liga, who worked at the Berezil Theatre;

🔸 Matvii Drak — one of the founders of the I. Franko Theatre, who also worked at the Kyiv Jewish Theatre;

🔸 Mykhailo Frenkel — one of the developers of the concept of ‘functional scenography’, and the author of books on the art of scenography;

🔸 Mykhailo Hleyzer — costume designer for the landmark productions of The Aeneid and Tevye directed by S. Danchenko (I. Franko Theatre), which were of great significance in the context of the restoration of Ukrainian independence.

🔸 Viktor Gukailo — whose work is a striking example of the reinterpretation of Jewish visual heritage within the processes of transformation in contemporary Ukrainian culture.

One of the key works featured in the project will be a nativity play by Iryna Uvarova for Charles Foyerbeger’s 1990s one-man show, symbolising the process of overcoming the most difficult challenges and prejudices on the path to the formation and development of a multi-ethnic Ukrainian national culture.

Project curators: PhD in Cultural Studies Serhii Rudenko and Chief Curator of the Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema of Ukraine, researcher of the Ukrainian theatrical avant-garde Tetiana Rudenko.

✨Our team has plenty of work ahead of us, and you can look forward to lots of posts, articles, events, and useful and interesting surprises!

Stay tuned for updates 😉

---

 ℹ️This publication was produced as part of a partnership project with UNESCO with financial support from the European Union. Its content is the sole responsibility of the NGO ‘Scenography Gallery’ and does not necessarily reflect the views of UNESCO or the European Union.