What to Do in Kyiv on the Weekend of January 2–4: Concerts, Shows, Tours, and Exhibitions

The first days of January in Kyiv are a pause after the festive noise and, at the same time, an opportunity to experience the beginning of the year more mindfully. Christmas concerts, chamber events, exhibitions, and family-friendly formats continue across the city — without haste or overload. We’ve gathered the most interesting of them: from music and theatrical shows to tours and festive events for children and adults.

Les Podervianskyi — “New Year’s Outrage”

On January 2 at the KPI Palace of Culture, Les Podervianskyi will take the stage with a program the author himself, without unnecessary courtesies, has called “New Year’s Outrage.” This is a format typical of Podervianskyi — a live performance featuring his signature texts, sharp irony, and language refined into a recognizable artistic style.

The event will take place immediately after New Year’s Eve and is conceived as a continuation of the holidays — without embellishment or self-censorship. Podervianskyi himself promises “everything like in real life, only better,” and insists that the meeting place cannot be changed. The evening is intended for longtime fans and for those who know well what to expect from his stage performances.

Admission: 590–1590 UAH

Hryhorii Veryovka Choir. Christmas Concert

On January 4, on the stage of the ICCM, the Hryhorii Veryovka National Choir will present a Christmas program in the format of a large-scale musical and choreographic performance. The concert will feature traditional carols, shchedrivkas, and Christmas songs, complemented by folk scenes and dance compositions.

All components of the ensemble are involved in the performance — choir, orchestra, and ballet. In total, about a hundred artists will take part in the program, making it possible to recreate Christmas as a holistic stage experience — through singing, movement, and living interaction with tradition.

Admission: from 390 UAH

Marta Adamchuk. Christmas in a Jazz Style

On January 3, the ICCM will host a Christmas jazz concert by Marta Adamchuk, accompanied by the jazz big band of the National Wind Orchestra and the Black Tie string quartet. The program focuses on well-known Christmas compositions reimagined in jazz arrangements.

This is a more intimate format for a festive evening — with recognizable melodies, the rich sound of a big band, and a jazz intonation that adds new shades to classic Christmas themes.

Admission: from 350 UAH

The Show “A Train to Wonders”

On January 3 and 4, the KPI Palace of Culture will present the family show “A Train to Wonders” — a new production by the team that created “Guardians of Dreams” and “Mavka.” This is a stage story that combines choreography, circus acts, and elements of stage magic.

According to the plot, the action unfolds in the shelter of the strict Madam Kruk, where dreaming is forbidden. Each child here has a totem toy — the embodiment of a hidden wish. One whistle of an old train launches a journey into the world of Wonder: the heroes enter a magical universe, meet its inhabitants, overcome the traps of the Raven and Kruk herself, and set out in search of the kidnapped Bunny. The finale of the story depends on whether Madam Kruk can remember her own childhood and allow dreams to come true.

Admission: from 490 UAH; children under 3 — free of charge without a separate seat (accompanied by a ticket-holding adult)

Exhibition “Women’s Liberation Struggles”

The Literary and Memorial Museum of Mikhail Bulgakov is hosting the exhibition “Women’s Liberation Struggles,” dedicated to the transformation of women’s roles at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. At the heart of the project are themes of equality, self-realization, and changes in women’s lives under the influence of the women’s movement, World War I, and revolutionary events.

The exhibition offers an interpretation of how political processes and the activity of women’s organizations in Kyiv from 1917 onward influenced social perceptions of women, their opportunities, and lifestyles. Special attention is paid to women’s ability to rethink their own role, their psychological resilience, and their life flexibility in times of historical upheaval.

The exhibition combines materials on general trends of the early 20th-century women’s movement, gender studies, and the history of women’s education in Kyiv. The display features unique documents from museum and Kyiv archives, as well as household items from the Art Nouveau era from private collections.

Admission: please inquire at the museum

Occasional Malanka

On January 3, the “KultMotyv” space will host Occasional Malanka — an intimate event dedicated to the Malanka tradition as a union of feminine and masculine principles. The organizers propose experiencing the celebration not as a folkloric reconstruction, but as a living, shared action.

The evening’s program includes joint learning and singing of carols and shchedrivkas, a discussion about Malanka, leading the Goat ritual and Shchedryi Vechir, as well as dances and ritual elements accompanying this holiday. The culmination will be a Malanka procession through Podil — as a continuation of the tradition beyond the venue itself.

The event combines singing, movement, conversation, and urban performance, inviting participants not to observe, but to actively take part in the celebration.

Admission: 400–1700 UAH

Christmas Music Concert “Silent Night”

On January 4, St. Andrew’s Church will host a chamber Christmas music concert titled “Silent Night” — an event for those who want to begin the new year without noise and haste. After the intensity of the holidays, the program offers a chance to pause and spend the evening in a calm, focused atmosphere.

The concert brings together classical canonical works and well-known Christmas songs — in restrained, refined interpretations. Live vocal sound in the church space emphasizes the spiritual depth of the music while preserving its simplicity and warmth.

Admission: 500 UAH

Interactive Christmas Performance “Those Who Listened to Eternity Speak”

On the grounds of the National Preserve “Saint Sophia of Kyiv,” a free interactive Christmas performance continues, created especially for family audiences. The project combines the historical context of Rus-Ukraine, live acting, and modern multimedia technologies.

The immersive show format allows viewers not only to observe the events, but also to become part of them. With the help of 3D projections on the walls of St. Sophia, ancient graffiti come to life, “telling” their own stories. The production by director Olena Koliadenko combines theatrical action, Christmas choral singing, and visual effects.

Admission: free

Exhibition “Breish. The Rhythm of Three Worlds”

Vakulenko Art Consulting is hosting a solo exhibition by Viacheslav Breish — one of the notable representatives of Ukrainian romantic figurative postmodernism. The project brings together three key directions of his work: jazz improvisation, Cossack themes, and Japanese visual culture.

The jazz series is built on a sense of movement and rhythm — elongated figures and fluid lines create the effect of sound resonating within the image. The Cossack images work with tension and strength of character, forming a harsher, more concentrated dynamic. The Japanese cycle, by contrast, is based on restraint, precision of line, and a sense of inner silence.

Together, these three visual worlds form a cohesive narrative about culture, corporeality, and rhythm.

Admission: free

Guided Tour of the Exhibition “Europe and Ukraine: A Dialogue Through the Ages”

The National Museum of the History of Ukraine will host a thematic guided tour of the exhibition “Europe and Ukraine: A Dialogue Through the Ages,” dedicated to the influence of Western European culture on Ukrainian art, everyday life, and social processes of the late 18th–19th centuries.

The exhibition demonstrates how European artistic styles and ideas were integrated into the Ukrainian context. Among the exhibits are furniture in the style of André-Charles Boulle, Austrian examples of Biedermeier, French display cabinets from the Second Rococo period, as well as decorative sculpture and interior objects. A significant part of the collection comes from the Tereshchenko family collection.

A separate section of the exhibition is dedicated to the influence of Western European democratic transformations on life in mid-19th-century Ukraine under Russian rule.

Admission: 200 UAH (reduced — 130 UAH)