Address of the Ukrainian cultural institutions to the Government of Ukraine

Dear Prime Minister,

We are addressing the Government with regard to extremely difficult situation in the Ukrainian culture through the spread of the coronavirus and the imposition of quarantine in Ukraine. First of all, let us assure that we, as experienced managers, understand and support the expediency of restrictions that will prevent the collapse of the medical system and preserve the health of the maximum number of citizens.

At the same time, institutions and producers of culture are among the first victims because of their inability to conduct public activities. The abandonment of public events - exhibitions, concerts, film screenings, performances, etc. - instantly results in a rapid decline in the income of all those who have invested time, effort and money in making the culture in Ukraine accessible, high quality and well organized. Ukrainian cultural institutions and independent producers are now finding themselves without resources to pay salaries, emergency or restoration work, and even have such vital needs as the protection of the state part of the Ukrainian Museum Fund. This is not just a halt to the development or freezing of the achievements of recent years, it is a common threat that the cultural sphere has experience in, if not overcoming, counteracting. Today, the threat is much more serious: the collapse of the institutional system and the loss of a whole generation of talented creators and cultural managers. This is a situation that is typologically similar to the situation in Ukraine during the 1990s.

Therefore, we ask that we seriously consider these risks and, together with the cultural community, the Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, make every effort to minimize them. First of all, we consider it necessary to redirect the development expenditures foreseen for culture or other purposes within the budgets of the main administrators managing the cultural institutions to current institutional support. Jobs and the good security of the institutions must be maintained. To do this, it is very important to exclude the potential reduction in labor costs. It is essential to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation and the Ukrainian Book Institute to address the problems that arise with the current crisis. These are extremely important institutions that are now expecting support as never before.

Please listen to the suggestions of the UCF and UBI themselves for the reformation of their programs through the challenges delivered by the coronavirus outbreak. Therefore, to preserve the financing of the projects by the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, whose budget is primarily intended to support the cultural producers themselves, and thus help them to overcome the crisis. It is important to maintain and promote UBI programs to support the Ukrainian publishing industry, which has made significant progress over the last decade. The same goes for movie production: the success of recent years has been made possible by the continued support through Ukrainian State Film Agency’s mechanisms, as filmmaking is a long-standing process. The abrupt cessation of support will devalue investments already made (in particular, co-financing from international partners), provoking disqualification and loss of staff.

We are convinced that, having analyzed all the risks and taking decisive but balanced steps that will first and foremost aim at protecting Ukrainians from the epidemic but also avoiding the devastating consequences for Ukrainian culture, we will overcome this challenge together.

Yuliia Fediv

Executive Director of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation

Olesya Ostrovska-Liuta

Director of the Mystetskyi Arsenal National Art and Culture Museum Complex

Alexandra Koval

Director of the Ukrainian Book Institute

Ivan Kozlenko

Director General of the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Center

Vladimir Sheiko

Director General of the Ukrainian Institute