BEST&BRIGHTEST: What has Happened to Ukrainian Culture Over the Past 30 Years?
Photo courtesy of Oleg Kokhan
Cultural values are a kind of universal language in the global dialogue. Today, more than ever, Ukraine needs a serious and high-quality discourse on cultural leadership.
Culture translates institutional values into the public space, so social transformations, the development of the economy, the business environment and the quality of geopolitical strategies depend on the state of culture.
Oleg Kokhan, producer, founder of SOTA CINEMA GROUP, four-time winner of the Nika film award in the category Best Film of CIS Countries and Baltic States discusses the importance and necessity of cultural transformation for Ukraine.
WE HAVE SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF
We can be proud of the films of our filmmakers who conquer world festivals, our theater directors and artists have finally attracted the attention of not only Ukrainian viewers, but large-scale performances gather hundreds of thousands of viewers and get a response.
This means that what we say and do is interesting and relevant! This means that we are beginning to be identified not only by Chernobyl and Shevchenko, but also by GOGOLFEST, The Tribe and Babi Yar.
FROM “INFERIORITY” TO A REVOLUTION OF CONSCIOUSNESS
For three decades of independence, our culture has hatched and even opened its eyes, but has not fledged yet and certainly has not taken off! In the era of neo-marketing, high-speed communications and insights, we can produce, model and create.
But until we learn how to implement these ideas qualitatively and “sell” first to our consumers, and then to the whole world, we will never grow up and become truly independent from our own complexes of “inferiority” and echoes of historical authorities.
Because the creative industries are global, and culture is not only about national heritage and subsidies, but also about profit! It depends on when the revolution will finally take place in our minds – cultural figures will change the “serving” model of interaction with the political and business elite to the “attacking” one and become equal partners.
CULTURE, ECONOMY, ELITES
As soon as the elites see a “window of opportunity” in culture, our cultural capital will become the fulcrum of a new economic development strategy for Ukraine!
And then Ukrainian culture will be able to shine at any Olympiad of cultural and creative industries and “involve” its cultural codes, without complaining about the lack of an internal consumer market that hinders the development of laws or their absence, as well as the disunity of political and business elites, who, even without culture, have something to get busy.
As they say on Wall Street: “As long as the music is playing, you’ve got to get up and dance.”
