On Wednesday, March 11 at 18:00, Ukrainian artists Darja Lukjanenko and Anna Solianyk will present a performance focused on a shared past, ways of activating collective memory, and female archetypes in traditional beliefs of Ukrainian agrarian communities.

Yevshan Zillya is a performative archeology series of Darja Lukjanenko exploring the nomadic shared past and possible ways to activate collective memory. Inspired by the legend from ancient Ukrainian historiography about the child of a Polovtsy Khan, who was separated from his family and raised in Kyiv, so that he forgot his origins. Neither the sound of Polovtsy’s song nor his mother tongue reminded him of his roots. But once he smelled a mythical herb called Yevshan Zillya, his memory came back. For Ukrainians, it holds hope to restore the lost heritage after centuries of repression and wars.

Blood and poison dripped onto the bread that “groaned like a human”, for it is sacred project explores female archetypes in traditional Ukrainian culture: the shaman, the witch, the midwife, the fortune-teller, the healer. Anna Solianyk documents and reconstructs in her practice these layers of identity based on my family stories, memories, and rituals. The performance focuses on the living, though marginalized, layers of heritage that have survived despite industrialization and Russification. These figures change with us, shaping new visions of femininity, strength, and knowledge.

Darja Lukjanenko (born 1994, Dnipro, Ukraine) is an interdisciplinary artist working across text, performance, and gardening. Her practice explores the postcolonial condition in regions affected by Soviet imperialism, with a focus on Ukraine, alongside themes of migration, identity, and collective memory. Her work is grounded in research, post-artistic strategies, and empathy-driven methods.

In her work, Anna Solianyk focuses on the interconnection between personal and collective memory, drawing inspiration from family history, traditions, and rituals. Through their exploration, she outlines how these elements endure, transform, and respond to contemporary challenges in today’s context. Her practice often combines various media, including installation, video, and performance. Through her work, she raises questions of identity and the relationship between past and present.

The program  is a part of the public program of the Collective memory is everything I don’t remember: Memories that are not our own exhibition.

Admission voluntary