International Coalition of Cultural Workers Against the War in Ukraine is an open online platform that collects, shares and distributes statements against war created by artists from all over the world. Driven by the Russian aggression and war against Ukraine, this platform presents an opportunity to protest against war, dictatorship, and authoritarianism. It is an opportunity to express solidarity with those in Ukraine who are affected by the Russian military aggression, and with those resisting colonial, patriarchal, imperialistic, and political repressions and terror elsewhere.

Creators about the platform: "Our goal is to position the war in Ukraine in a more complex global context which is subject to ubiquitous local wars and the ongoing processes of colonisation. The war in Ukraine is only a part of the imperialist invasive policy that Russia has been pursuing since 1991 by occupying nearby territories such as Chechnya, Southern Ossetia in Georgia, Transnistria in Moldova, Belarus etc. We are focusing today on the war in Ukraine as an event that affects the whole world especially in terms of the threat of a nuclear war. As a network of solidarity, the International Coalition of Cultural Workers Against the War aims at building lines of tension and resistance though providing a critical perspective on the colonial context and the hierarchical worldview that led to this war. We are including international voices from countries and territories that have themselves been war zones in order to discuss issues of inequality and the consequences of resource economies.

We strongly believe that contemporary art is a catalyst for discourse and civic engagement. Coalition means cooperative efforts that through a range of public exhibitions, actions, and discussions generate a cultural and socio-political space for reflection, debate, participation and action about war in Ukraine in a more complex global context.

WE WORK AS:

• Online platform that invites cultural workers worldwide to publish their anti-war, anti-dictatorial statements through submitting artworks such as posters, videos, audio etc.

• Public tool that distributes artwork offline in art institutions, large art events and festivals, indoor and in public spaces through screenings and discussions.

• Archive that provides opportunities for research and operates as a well-programmed collection of anti-war statements.

This platform was initiated by Ambasada Kultury and a group of Belarusian cultural workers: Anna Chistoserdova, Oxana Gourinovitch, Valentina Kiselyova, Aleksander Komarov, Lena Prents, Antonina Stebur, Maxim Tyminko, who left the country between 1994 and 2021 due to dissent with the political regime. Later two Ukrainian curators Natasha Chychasova and Tatiana Kochubinska joined the team.

Today we observe in аwe and despair how the dictatorial regime is using the territory of the Republic of Belarus as a staging area for the Russian army, their military equipment, and their combat operations. We feel confusion, frustration, and numbness as a result of the monstrous aggression being waged against the Ukrainian people, against our friends and relatives, and the involvement of Belarus in this terrible war.

We are initiating this platform with the hope of creating a force of artists around the world, joined together against war and dictatorship.

Selected dates:

April 20, 2022

The beginning of the public activity of the resource and the online exhibition.