Contemporary Creative Culture from Ukraine

Something about the design and the text, and of course the very topicality, suggests this substantial volume was put together quickly. However, while that might have signaled a shortcoming in many other wannabe serious survey works, this is the strength of this volume, particularly in its images.

There is so much of real difference to be excited by – it’s truly a visual feast. While it celebrates and explores Ukrainian culture, prompting us to feel even more sympathy for the country’s brave and suffering community and their culture, at the same time we may also have entirely selfish reasons to see the purchase price as very reasonable. If we just take the book as an inspiration tool it pays back in cold, hard, personal terms. You can use this material. This is the kind of book that can help open up creative channels as we consider the crossovers and paths in the work shown, and find the relevance and difference to elsewhere.

It is a collaboration between the Berlin-based publisher Gestalten and Ukrainian publisher Lucia Bondar and is a testament to the creative spirit and energy of Ukrainians and a promise for a better future. But the impact, relevance and usefulness of contemporary Ukrainian creative culture is what perhaps comes across best and may further strengthen support for their fight.