colloquium48 - «Art in Resistance», Oleksandra Katsalap

Ukrainian culture in difficult times

On the 629th day of the full-scale russian invasion in Ukraine, there is a need to remind people that war is not over yet.

Beside the fact that Ukraine still needs weapons and other "material" support, more and more there is another arising question: how is this new "war-reality" influencing the cultural landscape?
The talk will include a short retrospective on Ukrainian music, fine arts and literature within almost the last 100 years with a specific focus on the contemporary music pieces. I’ll show art in its historical context.
Because culture is not only art pieces, last but not least topic is language: why so many ukrainians used to speak russian and how we are dealing with it now. After the presentation there will be a room for questions and open discussion about anything related to Ukraine.

Oleksandra Katsalap is a composer, pianist and performer from Ukraine. She studies composition and piano at Music Academy Basel since 2022 with Michel Roth, Tobias Schabenberger and Caspar Johannes Walter. Her pieces were performed in France, Germany, Switzerland and Ukraine. Her main interest is in the field of music theater.