Conception
‘GOGOLfest’ - is the first polydisciplinary International festival of contemporary art in Ukraine.
‘GOGOLfest’ - is not only presentation of the best examples of the world art on the territory of Ukraine, not only accumulation of the powerful creative and intellectual resources, not only renovating broken links between generations of Ukrainian artists, and quality reintegration into the space of the world culture. It is formation of creative environment capable of becoming the active centre of Ukrainian arts’ development. Becoming not only a presentation centre, but also an inspirational, educational and productive one.
‘GOGOLfest’ - is an attempt to find a shape able to embrace a new artistic life, a shape meeting the needs of time. This is a chance to get a new generation of artists of the world significance appeared in Ukraine.
‘GOGOLfest’ - is development and presentation of contemporary art which includes modern music, dance, experimental theatre, set design, painting, design, cinema and audiovisual art, within one interactive space.
‘GOGOLfest’ has been called to turn ‘Mystetskyi Arsenal’ into one of the most powerful centres of the world festival movement, to contribute to foundation of the permanently active national art development centre which will implement intensive educational and inspiring activity aimed at creating a competitive national school of contemporary art and quality presentation of modern Ukrainian culture in the world cultural space.
‘GOGOLfest’ is called to represent a unique character of Ukraine, like the Avignon and the Cannes festivals represent France, the Chekhov one represents Russia, Venice biennale represents Italy.
‘GOGOLfest’ is the fundamental investment into education and future of the nation.
Coming from the global national aims and ambitions that were put into the basis of ‘Cultural-artistic and museum complex ‘MYSTETSKYI ARSENAL’’s foundation, existence of the annual International festival of contemporary art ‘GOGOLfest’ is an extremely important step in Ukraine’s movement towards European liberal space. As the absence of a centre like this makes it impossible to develop fully cultural space of the country, to create competitive Ukrainian projects, and to ensure worthy participation of Ukrainian artists in the world cultural process.
Nowadays, there is no big educational, informational, productive, presentation and research centre of contemporary art that could realize high-quality large-scale projects of modern art, that would include modern music, dance, theatre, set design, painting, design, non-commercial films and audiovisual art, permanently implement modern educational programmes, and present acquisitions of the world contemporary art.
The above-mentioned branches of Ukrainian art are the most vulnerable as their development and presentation require special space, informational infrastructure and system of artistic education, that are currently missing in Ukraine which means they need investments and support without which ‘generation of innovation processes’ in this highly important branch of Ukrainian culture is impossible.
Development and promotion of the modern forms of theatrical-visual and musical art must take place not through destroying of the already existing infrastructure, but by means of search and offer of the new ways of the independent development of these kinds of art.
The form and institutional structure of the national theatres’ system, Ministry of Culture and other governmental establishments, institutions and bureaucratic superstructures that are taking care of the modern Ukrainian culture in practice, don’t allow effective implementing of the innovation technologies, the newest systems of artistic education, raising professional qualification of specialists, realizing serious experimental research work, contributing to development of the modern young direction, choreography, set design, music, audio-visual arts, etc.
Today we can state with confidence that important signs of artistic life in Ukraine are taking place mainly thanks to separate individual initiatives. Among them we can mention Pinchukartcentre, common projects of A. Zholdak and E. Kushnaryov in Kharkiv Shevchenko theatre, activity of the private galleries, and such.
And yet, the single initiatives still cannot change the whole situation and fatal processes happening in the modern Ukrainian culture, art and artistic education.
In a state of agony and inertia of the post-Soviet ideological system of culture management, and separation of artistic process, the absence of permanently active national centre of contemporary art is becoming one of the most serious obstacles on the way of development of the modern Ukrainian artistic process. Creating THE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY ART ‘GOGOLfest’ is an important stage of national culture policy’s development. It is the fundamental investment into education and future of the nation. ‘GOGOLfest’ is an attempt to form an independent, viable, active artistic environment capable of becoming the centre of development of the modern Ukrainian art. This is an attempt to find a shape meeting the needs of time. It is a chance to see in Ukraine a generation of the artists of the world significance.