Defiance Festival: Manchester university celebrates Ukrainian artists affected by Russian invasion

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has had a devastating impact on Ukrainian people, and the impact of the war on the country’s artistic and cultural scene was explored at a Manchester event.

Defiance Festival showcased a number of artists from the country to celebrate their work and mark how their lives have changed since Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine more than a year ago.

The event was organised by academics at The University of Manchester who are providing a platform for creatives whose activities have been affected by political repression and war across central and eastern Europe.

What was Defiance Festival and why was it staged?

The free event was held at the Carlton Club in Whalley Range on Tuesday (9 May) to showcase the work of artists from Ukraine whose life and work has been affected by Russia’s invasion of the country.

It was organised by Marco Biasioli, Réka Polonyi and Tom Drew of The University of Manchester as part of their initiative Defiance: Artists at Risk in Central and Eastern Europe.

The academics say they want to provide a platform for artists whose careers have been impacted by conflict, raise awareness of the difficulties they face, build networks of support and connect them to artistic communities in Manchester.

The event included displays of visual art by Lenoczka, Yuliia Kyrychenko and KOLASHKA.UA and prints were on sale to raise money for charities and organisations working on the ground in Ukraine. There was then a concert featuring music by the duo Krapka;KOMA, and audiovisual artist Helleroid.