For Ukraine, for their Freedom and Ours ! - CSO
Avignon with Ukraine
Ukrainian figures from the worlds of art, literature and international justice will be in Avignon to be the voice of a society that has chosen independence and democracy. Which is why Moscow has planned its destruction, bombing civilians, abducting children to Russify them and looting its museums to appropriate their works. The human dimension of the Russian war of invasion, absent from the media, will be at the heart of our events on July 15-18.
The Avignon Festival is an exceptional moment for the cultural world and a wonderful opportunity to popularise our fight in support of Ukraine. It brings together a very diverse audience, actors from the French and international theater world, as well as the press from around the world.
This is a unique opportunity to raise awareness about the atrocities committed against Ukrainians and planned by Putin's regime. We hope to mobilise public opinion around the demands of our organisation, For Ukraine, For Their Freedom and Ours! , and particularly around the causes we champion:
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the return of all deported Ukrainian children and the immediate and unconditional release of all Ukrainian civilians illegally detained in Russia and the occupied territories
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the expulsion from the International Council of Museums (ICOM) of Russia, which organized the pillaging and systematic Russification of works and objects of art belonging to Ukrainian cultural heritage (see our column, Le Monde, 05/05/2025 ).
With the endorsement of the Ukrainian Embassy in France
in partnership with the online media les Humanités
Fundraising
The series of planned events is based on:
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the presence in Avignon of leading Ukrainian personalities, very active in civil resistance, who will share their struggles with the public and invite them to act
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partnerships concluded with emblematic institutions of the festival which will give a particular resonance to these events
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'Avignon with Ukraine' Program
July 5, 6pm at the Festival OFF:
Opening ceremony with Oleksandra Matviichuk (Center for Civil Liberties), live from Kyiv
On July 7, 9 and 10, the organisers of the “Avignon with Ukraine” event welcome you at the Ukraine stand in the Off Village.
July 15, 11 a.m. at the Utopia cinema:
Screening of the film Izolyatsia (2024) by Igor Minaev,
followed by a debate with the director
This “drama in three acts” retraces the fate of a former Soviet factory, which was converted into a center for contemporary art in independent Ukraine, and which has been transformed into a detention and torture center for Ukrainian prisoners after the takeover of Donetsk by Russian forces and separatists.
July 15, 6:30 p.m. at the Maison Jean Vilar,
Round table with:
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Oleksandra Matviichuk - Lawyer and President of the Center for Civil Liberties , Nobel Peace Prize 2022 winner, will present the objectives of the “People First” campaign: the return of all deported Ukrainian children and the immediate and unconditional release of all Ukrainian civilians illegally detained in Russia and the occupied territories;
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Konstantin Akinsha - Art historian and curator, will describe the rescue of Ukrainian works that resulted in the traveling exhibition "In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900 - 1930s" ( Madrid , Brussels , etc.)
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Tetyana Ogarkova - Journalist and academic, head of the international department at the Ukraine Crisis Media Center , will describe her activities in delivering books to the front line.
The discussion will be interspered with readings, by by Marcel Bozonnet and Martine Dupé
of texts by murdered poet and novelist Victoria Amelina, imprisoned and tortured journalist Stanislav Asseyev, and poets Maksym Kryvtsov and Artur Dron.
July 16, 10:30 a.m. at the Hôtel de Forbin (Calvet Institute),
Conference by Konstantin Akinsha:
"Ukrainian Cultural Heritage during the War"
July 16, 11 a.m., at the Renaud Barrault library auditorium:
Screening of Alisa Kovalenko's film “Alisa in Warland” (2015).
The documentary filmmaker shot this first feature at the age of 26, when the Revolution of Dignity began in Kyiv. The film describes her journey from Euromaidan to the war in the Donbass. Kidnapped, detained and raped by the separatists, Alisa Kovalenko is one of the founding members of the Sema Ukraine association, which brings together survivors of sexual violence perpetrated by the Russian army
Screening followed by a discussion with Igor Minaev and the director (subject to confirmation): “How to film war?”
July 16, 6 p.m. at the Ceccano Library: round table
"Language and Literature of Resistance in Ukraine"
July 17, 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
at the Off Village Agora,
round table with:
- Anastasiya Holovnenko, Advocacy Manager at the Center for Civil Liberties, will present the objectives of the #PeopleFirst campaign
- Christian Castagna , advocacy manager for the association For Ukraine, for their freedom and ours, will present the association's campaigns.
The meeting will be followed by a book signing with Olga Kurovska, co-author of Olga and Sasha's Diary
July 16, 3 p.m. at the Ceccano Library: round table
"Language and Literature of Resistant Ukraine"
From July 5 to 26, at the Ceccano Library :
installation of sculptures created by Kseniya Kravtsova ,
recalling one of the works of art stolen by Russian forces from the Kherson National Museum.
Kseniya KRAVTSOVA is a Ukrainian painter and visual artist.
In her workshop in Barbentane, near Nîmes and Avignon, she creates unique, tailor-made works.
Its clients are mainly art galleries, but also architects and individuals located throughout France.