Kyiv to LA: Connecting Contemporary Ukrainian Artists to Los Angeles
For the inaugural Kyiv to LA screening, filmmakers Roman Khimei and Yarema Malashchuk will present their most recent works, including The Wanderer (2022), How It’s Made (2021), and Dedicated to the Youth of the World II (2019). Recognized for their work in Eastern and Western European institutions and biennales, this project will mark the first time the artists will present their work in person to American audiences.
Working across film, video and photography, their practice engages with historical narratives and imperialist mythologies. Focusing on the role of the extra—the common person—they evaluate how individuals both uphold and deconstruct such narratives, and how those ideologies form the Ukrainian landscape.
Join us at ICA LA from 7-9pm for a potluck dinner, screening, and conversation between Yarema Malaschuk and curator Asha Bukojemsky. We invite you to bring food and beverages to share, which will be served alongside homemade pierogi.
About the Project:
Kyiv to LA brings six Ukrainian artists and art historians working across film, video and alternative modes of research to participate in a Los Angeles-based residency, culminating in a public program of talks, screenings and dinners. Spearheaded and organized by Marathon Screenings independent curator Asha Bukojemsky, the project marks a unique and timely collaboration with several LA-based organizations, including 18th Street Arts Center; Institute of Contemporary Arts, Los Angeles; GRI Scholars Program; Villa Aurora Thomas Mann House; and Art at the Rendon.
Participants: Art Historian Asia Bazdyrieva; artist Dana Kavelina; filmmakers Roman Khimei and Yarema Malashchuk; filmmaker Zhanna Ozirna; and filmmaker Oleksiy Radynski.
Events are free and open to all, with ASL interpretation provided by Pro Bono ASL.
Sign up to learn more about the project and for invitations to upcoming programs: https://marathonscreenings.com/
Kyiv to LA is made possible by a generous grant from Nora McNeely Hurley and Manitou Fund.
About the Artists:
Collaborating at the edge of visual art and cinema since 2013, Kyiv-based artists and filmmakers Roman Khimei and Yarema Malashchuk graduated as cinematographers from the Institute of Screen Arts in Kyiv, Ukraine. They were awarded the main award of the PinchukArtCentre Prize (2020), VISIO Young Talent Acquisition Prize (2021), as well as the Grand Prix at the Young Ukrainian Artists Award (MUHi 2019). Their debut documentary feature “New Jerusalem” premiered at Docudays UA International Film Festival 2020. The film received the Special Mention Award at Kharkiv MeetDocs and the duo also participated at the Future Generation Art Prize 2021. Their video works are in collections of Frac Bretagne, Fondazione In Between Art Film, and Seven Gravity Collection. Yarema and Roman are members of the Prykarpattian Theater art collective.
https://www.yaremaandhimey.com/
@yaremaandhimey
About the Curator:
Asha Bukojemsky is an independent curator and public programmer based in Los Angeles. Working with emerging and mid-career artists, her projects focus on the construction of identity and the politics of memory in a shifting geopolitical landscape. Since 2017 she has produced Marathon Screenings, a series of salon-style film & video presentations, as well as exhibitions and projects in collaboration with JOAN; 18th Street Arts Center; Active Cultures; Villa Aurora; Oregon Contemporary (Portland); The Vernacular Institute (Mexico City), amongst others.
She has also worked for a range of organizations over the past decade, including Project X Foundation, Los Angeles; The Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles; The Photographers’ Gallery, London, UK; and PHI Foundation for Contemporary Art, Montreal (formerly DHC/ART), amongst others.
