Meeting & Discussion with the Artists of the Project "Mazepa Code. Episode 2"

Format: A live curatorial dialogue and open discussion (no boring speeches by the walls!).

Our grand year-long journey continues, and we are ready to open the next door! Following the success of the first stage in the lower halls of the Hetmanate Museum, we are moving to a new level.

Episode 2 — "The Drama of Honor and Strength" — is more than just a change of exposition. It is a large-scale conceptual deployment and decoding of meanings! In this new space, we have created a unique curatorial dialogue: brand-new, fresh canvases by contemporary Ukrainian artists meet the selected, most iconic "ambassador works" from the first exhibition. It is a living transformation where paintings interact with each other, revealing new layers of the genetic code of our freedom.

What will happen on July 11 at 14:00?

Forget about classic formal presentations with routine greeting speeches. We invite you to a live meeting and an intellectual backstage with the artists who co-authored this project. You will have the opportunity to meet in person and hear from leading Ukrainian authors whose works form the basis and visual manifesto of the second episode:

• Valeriy Franchuk — world-renowned People's Artist of Ukraine, Taras Shevchenko National Prize laureate, member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine (NSAU).
• Oleksiy Ovcharenko — renowned art critic, painter, sculptor, and member of the NSAU.
• Natalia Duka, Maia Koba, Vita Teren, Svitlana Polova, Vasyl Kryvenko, Natalia Bondar, Olena Holembolska, Oksana Armiz.
• Vanda Orlova — project author, curator, and artist (presenting her graphic paintings in this project).

What will we discuss?

"Mazepa Code" is not a search for a facial likeness. We do not copy the Hetman's features; instead, through the language of color, symbols, and textures, we explore his scale through the lens of European literature and culture of the 18th–19th centuries. You will learn how artists "decoded" Mazepa's image through three conceptual lines of drama:

• The Romantic Rebel (based on J. Słowacki) — the drama of passion, aristocracy, and the ethics of honor.
• The State Titan (based on R. von Gottschall and A. Mützelburg) — diplomacy as a weapon on the "European chessboard."
• The Nation Builder (based on B. Lepkyi) — the large-scale construction of "Ukraine as a Cathedral" despite destruction and betrayal.

We are revealing the very grand legend that once captivated the whole world—from Voltaire to Byron and Hugo, from Słowacki to Lepkyi. Back then, the world marveled at Mazepa’s indomitability, and today, it marvels at the indomitability of each of us. We are simply finishing what he started.

What awaits you in Episode 2:

• A completely updated curatorial concept and new artistic names.
• Iconic "ambassador works" from the first episode in an entirely new context.
• Interactive space: updated audio accompaniment and your favorite virtual art curator right on your smartphones.
• Live discussion, informal communication with the masters, and a deep dive into the context.

Join us to feel how history comes alive through contemporary visual art and to ask your questions to the authors. Let’s discover great meanings together!