Ukrainian theatre avant-garde in the space of museum communication

Abstract

The aim of the work is to study the principles of museum communication in the processes of exhibiting works by Ukrainian avant-garde theatre artists of the first third of the 20th century in exhibition projects in Ukraine and Estonia in 2014–2023. The research methodology is based on art historical and cultural analysis. The scientific novelty of the study is related to the evolution of museum communication strategies in their focus on the transmission of national messages in the domestic Ukrainian and international cultural space to reveal the specifics of the codes of Ukrainian identity and rethink the achievements of the Ukrainian avant-garde, including the theatrical avant-garde, from the standpoint of decolonising its perception. In this context, the artistic and intellectual models of the exhibitions «Scene of the Ukrainian Avant-Garde» (Mystetskyi Arsenal, Kyiv, Ukraine, 2014), «Futuromarennia» (Mystetskyi Arsenal, Kyiv, Ukraine, 2021–2022) and «Futuromarennia. Ukraine ja avangard» (KUMU Art Museum, Tallinn, Estonia, 2023) were analysed for the first time. The conclusions state the evolution of communicative models focused on building links between the Ukrainian avant-garde and folk decorative art, the disclosure of inter-artistic relations within the concept of pan-futurism in the space of Ukrainian culture, as well as the presentation of a postcolonial view of the reactivation of the links between Ukrainian and European art in the reflections of avant-garde artists. 

Keywords: Ukrainian avant-garde, Ukrainian theatrical avant-garde, scenography, theatrical costume, contemporary museum practices, museum communication, visual communication, visual culture.