New cultural horizons during the pandemic (VIDEO)

 Art and culture have always been part of the identity of the nation and the education of the individual, because regardless of wealth, they lift the mood, unite, inspire, nurture a sense of truth, goodness and beauty.

      It is gratifying that at the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine both teachers and students treat culture with great reverence, monthly, weekly, and sometimes daily – presentations, concerts, competitions, festivals… However, March 12 last year changed the usual cultural routine-educational activities of our university, so everyone had to make sure that culture has become interactive, and the Department of Cultural Studies – to master a new art form – media art, which is inextricably linked art, science and modern technology with a combination of various forms and genres: digital, light, interactive and other arts.

     It was not easy to reorganize, but the desire of the leaders of creative teams to keep them, and students – not to leave classes in their favorite arts gave the first desired results: male vocal ensemble "Amero" presented a new work – "Darkness", pop singing studio "Voitvoys" – "Let in building at least for a moment ", art studio "7steps" – "We invite", People's Theater "Berezil" – "All life is theater, even in quarantine"… And then it turned out that, as they say, not as terrible a wolf as his draw. One after another there were projects "Birthday online happens" (for the birthday of the People's Artist of Ukraine, professor of the department of cultural studies Vadym Kryshchenko), "Dance as a means of overcoming the crisis" (choreography lessons), "Preparing for Easter", "Veterinary" ethnocultural studies", "Bow to you, educators", "Nobody canceled the Student's Day", "Department of cultural studies greets the defenders", "Feast of bread, fields and souls" – up to "New Year is already knocking at the door" and "Our Malanka does not go alone, Vasylko keeps company with our Malanka”.

     Apparently, everyone was impressed by the remote work of the Berezil National Theater: instead of the obligatory annual performance, amateur theatergoers made more than a dozen short films: "Who (or what?) do you see yourself", "Happy Birthday, NULES!", "Easier said than done", "Favorite films: unusual about NULES", "Emotions and culture", "Debut of a freshman", "And we have a party", "Old cinema in a new way"…
It was also necessary to show remotely that our groups are better than others, but the results of participation in festivals and competitions of different levels are impressive: Grand Prix of the choir of the folk song and dance ensemble "Kolos" named after S.A. Semenovsky at the I International Art Internet Competition "Panorama-Art", the Grand Prix at the International Festival-Competition "ParisMagnifique 2020", which was held under the auspices of the World Union of Culture, the Grand Prix of the III International Distance Multi-Genre Festival-Competition "Gems - Land of boundless opportunities ", the diploma of the winner of the 1st prize in the nomination" Vocal art "at the I remote festival-competition of national cultures and children's creativity"Golden wave"; Grand Prix of the ballet group of the folk song and dance ensemble "Kolos" at the annual charity festival-competition "Inna - Brovary"; Grand Prix of Voitvoys pop singing studio participants at Kyiv Chestnuts 2020 International Festival-Competition, Daryna Kyryliuk Grand Prix of Voitvoys Pop Singing Studio participants at Poltava Talant Fest International Talent Competition and her invitation to the final festival -competition of the prestigious project "Golden Voice of Ukraine"; Grand Prix of the folk women's vocal ensemble "Octave" at the "International online festival - contest of children`s and youth arts ON THE WAVES OF TALENT MELODIES OF THE SEA", first prize at the International festival-competition "Blooming Ukraine" "Colorful Autumn" , first prize at the annual charity festival-competition "Inna - Brovary"; Jury Chairman's Cup and application for the Kyiv Pectoral Award of the Berezil National Theater at the XV Kyiv Theater Spring Amateur Theater Festival…

     Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that many people believe that cultural issues are inappropriate neither during a pandemic, nor, moreover, during hostilities. But culture is always against war, culture wants peace, culture can heal whole generations of war survivors, culture helps not to lose faith in a peaceful future. And on the Day of the Unification of Ukraine, believing in the future, we want to present you, dear art lovers, a selection of the best musical souvenirs about our Ukraine. And we named it in the words of the famous Ukrainian poet Vasyl Symonenko, whose birthday we also celebrate in January - "Ukraine, you are my prayer!", And in the selection we used his poetry - "Ukraine, I drink your pupils." 

     And… Archbishop Lubomyr Huzar once said about us, about Ukrainians: “Being a people very rich in cultural heritage, can we afford to take them lightly? Despite all other state-building elements, let's not neglect culture, because this gift, more than any other, will make Ukraine a favorite home for our people and a powerful, peaceful, worthy of international attention and respect member of humanity." Shouldn't you believe that?

Iryna Maidanyuk,
head of the department of cultural studies