What to Do in Kyiv on the Weekend of November 21–23: Concerts, Festivals, and Exhibitions

Planning a weekend in Kyiv? These three days definitely won’t let you get bored. The city offers everything at once: a festival where you can dive into modern psychology, an electronic solo show by SI Process, a warm concert by Volkanov, the anniversary performance by Dislocados, chamber classics by candlelight, and new exhibitions about transformations and the quiet beauty of painting. 

Choose, combine — and follow your ideal autumn route.

Psychological Youth Festival “Explora”

On November 21, the Psychological Festival “Explora” will take place at the Kyiv Palace of Children and Youth — an event created especially for high-schoolers and students interested in modern psychology and seeking practical skills.

The program includes round tables, lectures, workshops, and practical sessions divided into several key areas. Participants will learn about the work of psychologists in education, inclusive approaches, crisis counseling, and resilience development; speak with specialists who work with PTSD, grief trauma, anxiety, and the adaptation of military personnel; and get acquainted with psychology in business, HR processes, coaching, and team motivation.

Separate blocks are dedicated to working with children and teenagers — from bullying prevention to stress management. There will also be meetings with private-practice experts who will share self-help tools, principles of building a personal brand, and ways to monetize knowledge.

The festival includes workshops, trainings, creative studios, time for informal communication during coffee breaks, prize draws, and certification for all participants.

Admission: free with prior registration

SI Process Concert

On November 21, Origin Stage will host a major solo concert by SI Process — the electronic project of Stanislav Ivashchenko, known to listeners as the “Drum Machine Man.” For the artist, this is his debut in a large-scale solo format, so the evening promises to be special.

Ivashchenko has long established himself as one of the most powerful sound producers and most energetic drummers in the country. His live shows are an explosion of live rhythmics and electronic structures, forming a signature sound he describes as “organic electro breakbeat.”

The concert will be an opportunity to hear this unique sound live — in all its dynamics and multilayered richness.

Admission: 500–1000 UAH

Exhibition “Kharkiv Residents. Askhat Safargalin. Petro Shyhymaga”

The Museum of Modern Art of Ukraine has opened the exhibition “Kharkiv Residents. Askhat Safargalin. Petro Shyhymaga” — part of the “Dialogues” project introducing the work of two representatives of the Kharkiv school of painting. The exhibition offers a look at painting as a conversation between generations: calm, sincere, and attentive to the details of everyday life.

The hall features about eighty works from the museum collection. Askhat Safargalin’s paintings stand out for their gentle lyricism and warm attitude toward people and nature, while Petro Shyhymaga’s works are marked by intimacy, balance, and a soft melodic mood.

Admission: free

Group Exhibition “It’s Only the End of the World”

PinchukArtCentre is hosting the exhibition “It’s Only the End of the World” — a project bringing together works by seven Ukrainian artists: Kateryna Lysovenko, Anna Nykytiuk, Vladyslav Plisetskyi, Zhenia Stepanenko, Fedor Tetianych, Illia Todurkin, and Olha Shtein.

The exhibition explores the theme of mutation — the quiet and constant changes that occur in people under the pressure of reality. Here, the “end of the world” appears not as an apocalyptic fantasy but as the lived experience of the present, in which we have existed for several years already. The artists invite viewers to look closely at these transformations: at what has disappeared, what has changed, and what, despite everything, has grown within us.

Admission: free

Volkanov Concert at the “Ukraine” Palace

On November 23, Volkanov — a Ukrainian singer and composer from Berdyansk — will perform on the stage of the “Ukraine” Palace. His songs became recognizable in the early years of the full-scale war. His track “Namaliuiu” (“I Will Draw”), which gained over a million views on YouTube and entered top charts, introduced wide audiences to his sincere style and emotional delivery.

The concert program includes “Write to Me,” “Like My Love,” “Bride,” “Namaliuiu,” and other works created in recent years. Volkanov’s performances always combine heartfelt emotion with bright energy, so the evening promises to be warm and memorable.

Admission: 1100–2700 UAH

Grand Concert. Dislocados — 20 Years at Caribbean Club

On November 23, Dislocados will celebrate their 20th anniversary at Caribbean Club — and they’ll do it in their signature style: with humor, musical drive, and an unexpected stage storyline. Instead of a traditional concert, the band has prepared a full musical-theatrical show structured as an investigation: on the day of the celebration, salsa “mysteriously disappears,” and only the musicians, a detective, and the audience can find it.

The band will present a new song, “Palaie” (“It Burns”), and the artists will appear in new roles. Guest performers — Dmytro Oleksandrov with his trio and Infinito String Music — will join the show. The anniversary evening promises lots of live music, humor, and dance energy — exactly what fans have loved Dislocados for over the past two decades.

Admission: 390–890 UAH

Piano Concert at St. Catherine’s Kirch

On November 22, the atmospheric hall of St. Catherine’s Kirch will host a chamber piano concert performed by Anna Polishchuk, an Honored Artist of Ukraine. The candlelit space of the historic church will create perfect conditions for immersing into classical music.

The program includes selected works by Brahms, Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin. The concert will feature Brahms’ “Rhapsody” and “Intermezzo,” Mozart’s “Fantasy,” Beethoven’s “Rondo Capriccioso,” as well as Chopin’s iconic compositions — “Scherzo,” “Nocturne,” and “Waltz.”

Important: entry to St. Catherine’s Kirch (22 Liuteranska St.) is only available from the Khreshchatyk side.

Admission: 320–500 UAH

Exhibition “Graphemes”

The Imagine Point gallery continues to host the exhibition “Graphemes,” which brings together works by Vasyl Tatarskyi and Leonid Kolodnytskyi. The artists create a dialogue between their works and graphemes — the fundamental units of writing — transferring this idea into visual language.

Vasyl Tatarskyi’s sculptures capture moments of existence through smooth lines and massive forms that combine matter and emptiness. In his painting, Leonid Kolodnytskyi searches for his own “language after language” — stepping away from narratives and color solutions, working with basic compositional elements: shapes and lines as independent carriers of meaning.

Admission: free