SONIAKH digest
On October 11, 2022, the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw and SCC Sunflower [SDK Słonecznik] will host an event dedicated to the launch of SONIAKH digest, an online publication amplifying voices and visions from Ukraine and those of Ukraine’s allies.
In addition to the publication itself, SONIAKH digest collective is actively involved in activist work, curating the exhibitions, organizing and participating in international symposiums and panels.
SONIAKH [eng: SUNFLOWER] digest was set up by an international collective of artists, activists, cultural workers and scholars in response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its worldwide propaganda machine. The online publication and affiliated think tank strongly support Ukrainian statehood and the right of Ukrainians to defend themselves, seeking to counter misinformation, disinformation, negative stereotypes and propaganda that obfuscate, relativize and undermine the efforts of Ukrainians to oppose the Russian colonial invasion.
SONIAKH digest reincarnates the archaic journalistic tradition of the “digest” as an outlet where information, analysis and artistic production are collated, summarised, and amplified for a general audience. It addresses a new age, in which old, Western-centric paradigms have to be abandoned, unilateral explanations do not work, and grand theories fail to explain the mutating realities on the ground. In this time, new antifascist fronts emerge against multiplying imperialist threats, ushering in the need to defend democracy.
SONIAKH digest is affiliated with the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw and the Office for Postartistic Services and supported by grants from the European Cultural Foundation and Sigrid Rausing Trust.
Milena Khomchenko is an independent art researcher and writer from Ukraine, a co-editor and curator of SONIAKH digest. She is currently pursuing a Master’s program in Aesthetics and Art Theory at Kingston University London supported by Chevening Award. She has also studied philology, English language and Ukrainian language at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. Her texts have been published in L’Internationale Online, Spike Art Magazine, Danarti, KORYDOR, ArtsLooker, Blok, Your Art and others. She is co-author and archivist of the book MUHi 2009–2021 (Osnovy Publishing, 2022). She has collaborated closely with various Ukrainian cultural institutions, including Method Fund, Mystetskyi Arsenal and Shcherbenko Art Centre.
Clemens Poole is a US American artist living in Kyiv, Ukraine. His works have been presented variously in the US and Europe. Since 2014 his practice has been linked closely to the Ukrainian context. He has worked extensively with the art foundation IZOLYATSIA and been active with a number of independent projects in Ukraine. He holds a BFA from the Cooper Union and an MA/MSc in international history from Columbia University and the London School of Economics.
Valeriia Buradzhyieva is an independent curator, arts manager and researcher from Berdiansk, Ukraine. Currently, she is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Performance Studies at Stockholm University. Valeriia is a complier of “Laboratory of Contemporary Art”, a manual about the ways in which contemporary art mediums can be integrated into educational programs for children and young adults (supported by Ukrainian Cultural Foundation). She worked closely with IZOLYATSIA (Soledar, Ukraine), Wild Theatre (Kyiv, Ukraine) and Milvus Artistic Research Center (Knislinge, Sweden) among others. Valeriia holds a BA in History and Theory of Culture from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.
DJ Set:
Richie Beige is a Kyivan DJ based in Warsaw. She loves playing fast techno and gets inspired by a dark, synthetic ambiance as well as by the 90s era sounds. Richie is a resident of Shum.Rave from Slovyansk, Ukraine.