Events
Displaced Perspectives Seminar: Open Sessions
May 4th, 2 pm - 4 pm Trauma: meeting with artist Lia Dostlieva (hybrid) We’re meeting in person in room 105, and Lia Dostlieva will join online. Lia Dostlieva (born in Donetsk, Ukraine) is a Ukrainian artist, cultural anthropologist, and essayist whose work explores themes of memory, trauma, and social vulnerability. She works across multiple media—including photography, installations, video, and textile sculpture—and focuses on issues such as collective trauma, postmemory, decolonial narratives, and the visibility of marginalised groups . Lia Dostlieva has exhibited internationally at major institutions and participated in the Ukrainian Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale . Her practice often combines artistic production with research and writing, reflecting her academic background in cultural anthropology. May 11th, 2 pm - 4 pm Chornobyl: meeting with Dr Jonathon Turnbull (hybrid) We’re meeting in person in room 105, and Jonathon Turnbull will join online. Jonathon Turnbull is a more-than-human geographer from Newcastle upon Tyne with a broad interest in the geographies of nature. His research examines how environmental knowledges are produced and contested across diverse geographical contexts from the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine to the rumen of livestock cattle in Europe and India. We will focus on Jonathon’s upcoming book, in which he explores the ‘return of nature’ to the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine, the site of the world's worst nuclear catastrophe of 1986. This work is currently being prepared for publication as a monograph, provisionally titled Radioactive Resurgence , which explores how the Zone has come to be understood simultaneously as a post-apocalyptic wasteland and a thriving nuclear nature reserve, and how more-than-human life endures after nuclear catastrophe. June 1st, 2 pm - 4 pm Post-industrial urban ecologies: meeting with artist Karolina Uskakovych and screening of her latest movie, White Cliffs of Vinnytsia (2026). We’re meeting in person in room 105, and Karolina Uskakovych will join online. The territory of the Vinnytsya Chemical Plant stretches along the railroad tracks, not far from the central city railway station. Founded in 1920, Khimprom was one of Ukraine's largest chemical enterprises and went bankrupt in the late nineties, leaving behind a toxic legacy – a phosphogypsum stack known locally as the "white mountains." In her project, Karolina Uskakovych returns to her hometown to explore the landfill ecosystem through archival work, visual research, collaboration with experts, and the conceptualisation of post-industrial urban ecologies. What is the ecosystem that forms on the phosphogypsum stack? What is its cultural and ecological significance? Do the "white cliffs" pose a threat of environmental pollution, or have they become a haven for wildlife within the industrial zone? Can these roles coexist? We will discuss the decolonial rethinking of the urban landscape and the creation of artistic visions for post-industrial ecosystems. June 8th, 2 pm - 4 pm The Post-Soviet: meeting with artist Lada Nakonechna . In person, room 105. Lada Nakonechna is a Ukrainian contemporary artist whose practice spans drawing, installation, performance, and video. Her work critically examines systems of power, visibility, and representation, often focusing on how political and social structures shape everyday life. A significant strand of her practice addresses migration, displacement, and the experience of refugees , particularly in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Nakonechna explores the instability of identity and belonging under forced movement, as well as the emotional and bureaucratic realities faced by displaced people. Her works frequently reflect on absence, erasure, and the fragility of personal and collective memory. She is a member of the groups R.E.P. and Hudrada. June 15th, 2 pm - 4 pm Home: meeting with Yuriy Biley from Open Group . In person, room 105. Open Group is a Ukrainian contemporary art collective founded in 2012 in Lviv by six artists: Yuriy Biley, Pavlo Kovach, Anton Varga, Stanislav Turina, Roman Khimei, and Andriy Rachynskyi (As of August 2023, Open Group consists of three people: Yuriy Biley, Anton Varga, and Pavlo Kovach Jr.). The group works collaboratively across installation, performance, video, and participatory practices. Their work often explores collective authorship, communication, and the construction of social space , frequently involving audiences directly in the creation or activation of artworks. Open Group is particularly known for its interest in everyday interactions, institutional critique, and the boundaries between artist and viewer . In recent years, their practice has increasingly addressed the impact of war, displacement, and shifting identities in Ukraine , reflecting on how communities are formed and reshaped under conditions of crisis. Their projects often engage with testimony, shared experience, and the role of language and storytelling. Open Group has represented Ukraine at major international platforms, including the Venice Biennale, where their work has drawn attention for its subtle yet powerful engagement with contemporary social and political realities. June 22nd, 2 pm - 4 pm Memory: meeting with Mykola Ridnyi. In person, room 105. Mykola Rydnyi (born in Kharkiv, Ukraine) is a Ukrainian artist, filmmaker, and curator whose work explores the intersections of memory, history, and political reality . Working across video, installation, sculpture, and photography, he examines how personal and collective memories are shaped by ideology, media, and urban space. A central focus of Rydnyi’s practice is the construction and erosion of memory in post-Soviet contexts , particularly in eastern Ukraine. He often engages with archives, testimonies, and fragmented narratives to reveal how histories are mediated, forgotten, or manipulated. His works address themes such as trauma, propaganda, and the legacy of Soviet and post-Soviet transformations , as well as the ongoing impact of war on collective consciousness. Rydnyi is a co-founder of the SOSka group and has been closely involved with independent art initiatives in Kharkiv, contributing to critical cultural discourse in Ukraine. His films and installations have been shown internationally, including at major exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale, where his work has been recognised for its nuanced engagement with memory, image-making, and political subjectivity. The meetings are part of the seminar series Displaced Perspectives: Ukrainian Art and Cultural Resilience in Times of War .
Location: Osteuropa Institut FU Berlin Garystr. 55 Raum 105
Workshop mit der Regisseurin Eva Neymann
Location: Habelschwerdter Allee 45 14195 Berlin Seminarzentrum Silberlaube Raum L 113
"Life-Building. On Metabolic Structures, Energetic Art, and Dynamic Architecture in the Early Soviet Period": Workshop
Location: Garystr. 55 302a
Talk with Yuliya Tsimafeyeva
Location: online via Webex
Lecture and discussion with Anna Dziapshipa (Tbilisi)
Location: online via Webex
Seminar exhibition: "Testimonies of war"
Project exhibition by students of the Institute for East European Studies and the Peter Szondi Institute for General and Comparative Literature at the FU Berlin
Location: Freie Universität Berlin Habelschwerdter Allee 45, Raum JK 28/228
Workshop: "Energies of the Avant-Garde"
Location: Seminarzentrum der Freien Universität Berlin Otto-von-Simson-Straße 26 14195 Berlin Raum 116
Discussion with Eva Yakubovska and Vlada Vorobiova (Віче/Vitsche e.V.) ("Einführung in die Kulturgeschichte")
Location: Garystraße 55, Seminarraum 101
Dr. Maia Barkaia: "Borderlands Perspective and Imperial Faultlines in the Historiography of Georgian-Abkhaz Relations"
As part of the seminar "Flucht, Trauma und Erinnerung in der georgischen Literatur und im Film" (taught by Irine Beridze), on 13th of December Dr. Maia Barkaia will give a lecture on "Borderlands Perspective and Imperial Faultlines in the Historiography of Georgian-Abkhaz Relations".
Location: online (via Webex)
"The Frontier": screening and discussion
Location: Garystraße 55 Hörsaal A
Talk with director Aliaksei Paluyan ("Einführung in die Kulturgeschichte")
Location: Garystr. 55, Seminarraum 101
Film screening and discussion: "Evge" ("Homeward")
Nariman Aliev Ukraine 2019 / Original with subtitles / 96 mins
Location: Arsenal Potsdamer Straße 2 10785 Berlin
Movie talk "Atlantis" (Köln)
"ifs Encounters" #standwithukraine in cooperation with the Film Festival Cologne (FFCGN) On the Screen: "Atlantis" by Valentyn Vassjanowytsch (Ukraine 2019, feature film, 108 min., OV with engl. subtitles) Followed by a discussion with Kateryna Stebnovska (1. assistant director) moderated by Irine Beridze (Institute for East European Studies FU Berlin) in English Language
Location: internationale filmschule köln
3rd screening of the series "8 Years of War in Ukraine": "Tera" by Nikon Romanchenko
The film series is organized in cooperation between the Media Library of the Institute for East European Studies at Freie Universität Berlin and the Ukrainian Film Festival Berlin (UFFB) . The series brings together three films (documentary and feature films) by Ukrainian filmmakers that mark contemporary Ukrainian cinema in the context of the war with Russia, which has been going on for eight years now. The aim of the series is to open different perspectives on the war, realized in different narratives and visual representations: a post-apocalyptic industrial horror, a reflection on the long-term effects of the war, a documentary of life in wartime, where even small details suddenly receive new meaning. What unites the films in the series are the voices of Ukrainian filmmakers who lived and shot in Ukraine before and during the war, and whose works illuminate the specific context from a multidimensional perspective. All screenings will be accompanied by expert talks + a fundraiser for Docudays UA , which will address questions about the current role of art, the visibility of Ukrainian filmmakers in times of war, and the future of Ukrainian cinema with invited filmmakers and guests. For more information about the film series, the movies, and the fundraiser, please click HERE (in German).
Location: City Kino Wedding Müllerstraße 74 13349 Berlin
2nd screening of the series "8 years of war in Ukraine": "Atlantis" by Valentyn Vasyanovych
The film series is organized in cooperation between the Media Library of the Institute for East European Studies at Freie Universität Berlin and the Ukrainian Film Festival Berlin (UFFB) . The series brings together three films (documentary and feature films) by Ukrainian filmmakers that mark contemporary Ukrainian cinema in the context of the war with Russia, which has been going on for eight years now. The aim of the series is to open different perspectives on the war, realized in different narratives and visual representations: a post-apocalyptic industrial horror, a reflection on the long-term effects of the war, a documentary of life in wartime, where even small details suddenly receive new meaning. What unites the films in the series are the voices of Ukrainian filmmakers who lived and shot in Ukraine before and during the war, and whose works illuminate the specific context from a multidimensional perspective. All screenings will be accompanied by expert talks + a fundraiser for Docudays UA , which will address questions about the current role of art, the visibility of Ukrainian filmmakers in times of war, and the future of Ukrainian cinema with invited filmmakers and guests. For more information about the film series, the movies, and the fundraiser, please click HERE (in German).
Location: City Kino Wedding Müllerstraße 74 13349 Berlin
1st screening of the series "8 Years of War in Ukraine": "No Obvious Signs" by Alina Gorlova
The film series is organized in cooperation between the Media Library of the Institute for East European Studies at Freie Universität Berlin and the Ukrainian Film Festival Berlin (UFFB) . The series brings together three films (documentary and feature films) by Ukrainian filmmakers that mark contemporary Ukrainian cinema in the context of the war with Russia, which has been going on for eight years now. The aim of the series is to open different perspectives on the war, realized in different narratives and visual representations: a post-apocalyptic industrial horror, a reflection on the long-term effects of the war, a documentary of life in wartime, where even small details suddenly receive new meaning. What unites the films in the series are the voices of Ukrainian filmmakers who lived and shot in Ukraine before and during the war, and whose works illuminate the specific context from a multidimensional perspective. All screenings will be accompanied by expert talks + a fundraiser for Docudays UA , which will address questions about the current role of art, the visibility of Ukrainian filmmakers in times of war, and the future of Ukrainian cinema with invited filmmakers and guests. For more information about the film series, the movies, and the fundraiser, please click HERE (in German).
Location: Filmkunst 66 Bleibtreustraße 12 10623 Berlin
Film screening: "Pipeline" ("Truba")
in the framework of the "Energy Empire East" film series
Film screening: "The Bell of Chernobyl" ("Kolokol Černobylja")
in the framework of the "Energy Empire East" film series
Film screening: "The Earth Thirsts" ("Zemlja žaždet")
in the framework of the "Energy Empire East" film series