Cultural Resilience: Three ways Kyiv is supporting culture during conflict
Projects: Preserving cultural heritage, monuments and supporting storytelling as a form of resistance
Kyiv joined the World Cities Culture Forum in 2023, supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, and the cities of Edinburgh and London. Despite the ongoing conflict and wartime restrictions, diverse cultural life remains at the heart of the city. In response, cultural communities have become hubs of resistance by preserving cultural collections and protecting Ukrainian monuments. Here are three key cultural projects that the City of Kyiv has supported, featured in the 5th Edition of the World Cities Culture Report.
Kyiv Biennial
The Kyiv Biennial has been held every two years since 2015, expanded internationally since 2023. The 6th edition in Autumn 2025 will feature exhibitions in Ukraine (Kyiv and Dnipro) as well as Warsaw, Antwerp, and Linz. Titled Near East, Far West, it showcases new commissions and archival works, reflecting on historical trauma, resistance, and cultural memory. Extending into 2026, it fosters international dialogue and awareness, highlights political and social challenges, and promotes Ukrainian creativity and solidarity through art.
Reclaiming Public Space
Kyiv is actively decolonising its public realm. Since 2022, citizens have selected new names for hundreds of streets and Soviet Russian monuments have been removed through public consultation via the Kyiv Digital app. This is part of a broader effort to reassert Ukrainian identity, reclaim urban space, amplify Ukrainian heritage, and symbolically resist Russian imperial legacy.
Heritage Preservation and Digital Tools
Digital tools and archives are playing an important role in recording the war’s impact on Ukranian culture. The Ukrainian Fund of Digitised Art (UFDA) has digitally preserved over 5,000 artworks using high-resolution imaging and blockchain technology. Kyiv’s VR Tourism platform hosts virtual tours of buildings before the invasion and has been adapted to record evidence of their destruction. Similarly, the Backup Ukraine app has enabled citizens to create over 35,000 3D scans of heritage sites, creating a lasting record and ensuring Ukraine’s cultural heritage is protected despite the devastation of war.
