Ukrainian Museums in Wartime: 

Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta and Yuliya Vaganova in conversation with Jason Farago 

November 15, 2023  

6-7:30pm (EST) followed by a reception 

In person or on Zoom, register here. 

The Celeste Bartos Theater 

Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Education and Research Building 

4 West 54 Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues 

What’s happening on the ground to Ukrainian museums and cultural institutions? What are the challenges they face each day? How do their experiences impact thinking about museum practices for the future? The directors of two art museums in Kyiv, Ukraine, will discuss their experiences and perspectives with the critic Jason Farago.  

Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta is Director General of the National Art and Culture Museum Complex Mystetskyi Arsenal (Art Arsenal) in Kyiv. She also served as First Deputy Minister of Culture of Ukraine and First Deputy to the Head of the National Committee for UNESCO.

Yuliya Vaganova is Acting Director of the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Arts, which she has managed throughout the Russian invasion of Ukraine. She has lectured at the National Ukrainian Art Academy and Kyiv Academy of Media Art and has served as Vice-President of ICOM Ukraine since January 2023. 

Jason Farago is a critic at large at The New York Times, where he has reviewed exhibitions, conducted interviews and reported features across the United States and in a dozen foreign countries, including Ukraine. In 2023 he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for criticism. 

This evening is presented by Research Programmes and post, MoMA’s online platform devoted to research on art from a global perspective. 

This programme is supported by the Trust for Mutual Understanding.