Keys to a home they can never return to. Memories of their hometowns. Stories that live on in people’s hearts, even when war changes their lives forever.
The project brought together female artists from eight districts of Donetsk Oblast. Through art, they told stories about their homeland, memory, loss, hope, and the resilience of people who maintain a connection to their land, no matter where they are.
The result of this collaborative effort is the art installation “Culture Without an Address: Voices of the East”—a symbolic cultural archive that preserves the stories of the people and communities of our region.
The following artists contributed to the creation of this art collection:
- Oksana Krot from the Novodonetsk community,
- Lyudmila Sorokina from the Toretsk community,
- Tetyana Golubenko from the Volnovakha community,
- Iryna Sytnyk from the Donetsk community,
- Olena Prykhodchenko from the Mangush community,
- Natalia Ryzhkova from the Pokrovsk community,
- Natalia Vybornova from the Novoazovsk community,
- Maria Razhkova from the Kramatorsk community,
- Yana Sivakova from the Snizhne community.
The final exhibition served as a space for gathering, reflecting on shared experiences, and honoring the cultural heritage of the Donetsk region. Participants and guests had the opportunity to view the artworks, hear the artists’ stories, and join the conversation about preserving Ukrainian national and civic identity.
The event was attended by Viktoria Nabokova, head of the Kramatorsk District Military Administration; Lilia Zolkina, head of the Department of Family, Youth, and Public Events for National-Patriotic Education of the Donetsk Regional State Administration; Viktoria Tochena, head of the Department of Culture and Tourism of the Donetsk Regional State Administration; as well as the heads of the district state administrations in the Donetsk region.
During the event, promotional materials for the project and a specially designed postage stamp were presented; these will serve as additional tools for promoting the cultural heritage of the Donetsk region. The artists and partners were recognized for their contribution to the initiative.
The project was implemented by members of the Coordination Council for the Promotion of Ukrainian National and Civic Identity under the Kramatorsk District State Administration.
The project was initiated and organized by Inna Sorokina—head of the Department for Cooperation with Local Self-Government Bodies at the Kramatorsk District State Administration and chair of the NGO “Creative Association of Donetsk Region”—and Olena Odynets—representative of the NGO “Strong Communities.”
The project was implemented by the NGO “Creative Association of Donetsk Region” in collaboration with the “MiRazom” Support Center for Internally Displaced Persons in the Kramatorsk District (Dnipro) and the Kramatorsk District State Administration.
The final exhibition is not the end, but the beginning of a new journey. Ahead lie new cities and communities where even more people will be able to see the works and hear the voices of the East. After all, culture does not remain behind closed doors. It travels with people, lives on in creativity, memory, and our desire to preserve our roots.
Culture has no address. It lives within people.
The project “Culture Without an Address: Voices of the East” was implemented as part of the CASCADE project, funded by the Swedish Institute and carried out by the East Hub subnetwork within Trans Europe Halles (Sweden), coordinated by the IZOLYATSIA Foundation (Ukraine) and Malý Berlín (Slovakia), with the participation of Salaam Cinema (Azerbaijan) and Culture and Management Lab (Georgia).
Based on materials from the Kramatorsk District State Administration