Almost 3 years after the start of the war, we reaffirm the need of support to the Ukrainian artists and cultural sector. A Discovery Guide for Recovery is a project aimed at preparing for post-war recovery.
Taking inspiration from the Sarajevo Survival Guide produced by a collective of artists in 1992 during the siege of the city, and the Nonturismo methodology for art-based community engagement in rural and fragile areas, we will work with local communities, internally displaced persons, displaced and at-risk artists, and international artists, in a collective drafting process based in the Bakota Hub (a cultural center in Western Ukraine).
The result will be an artistic book with grassrooted itineraries that highlight significant sites and landmarks, as well as stories, personal accounts and visions of the future from local communities.
The call for artists - Apply now
An open call for 6 artists (including two Ukrainians) interested in co-designing with Ukrainian communities a “non-touristic” guide on the present and future of Ukraine has been launched on the 1st of April, 2025.
Applicants are called to design unconventional tours to discover the Ukrainian region of Bakota, in Western Ukraine, by involving the inhabitants in a process of recovering memories of the past, raising awareness on opportunities and problems of the present, foreseeing possible future scenarios. Artists will be hosted for a two-week art residency at Bakota Hub, a cultural centre in Horaivka, Khmelnytskyi Oblast (Southwestern of Ukraine)- The tours will be printed and published in an international guidebook dedicated to non-tourists, those who do not travel to collect postcards but to discover the authentic spirit of a territory.
The selected artists will receive a 3.000 EUR grant to produce their tour, two-week hospitality at – and travel to – Bakota Hub (Ukraine), their artwork featured in an international publication, the training on the Non-tourism methodology through a co-design workshop in July in Warsaw, artistic curatorial and tutoring feedback sessions, network and exchange opportunities with other residency artists at Bakota Hub in Ukraine.
The call remains open until the 30th of April 2025, 23:59 CET: https://forms.gle/aUE2KVd74Fv9bELe8
The project spaces: Bakota region
Today Bakota – a district in Khmelnytsky region, located in Southwestern Ukraine, near the border with Moldova – is the most popular tourist destination in Ukraine according to Google searches. But you won’t find a town called Bakota on the map. The history of Bakota ended in 1981, when during the construction of the Novodnistrovska hydroelectric power station by the Soviet authorities, the town was completely flooded with water, as were dozens of neighboring towns and villages with a rich historical and cultural heritage. The price of this reservoir is about 30 flooded villages, 16 thousand hectares of fertile land, 100 hectares of forest and displaced residents, and most importantly, the unique centuries-old cultural heritage of the region.
Now the entire Bakota is under water, and the towns and villages around the Bakota Bay on the high bank of the Dniester Reservoir are conventionally named after it.
Revitalising it is particularly relevant since Ukraine’s heritage is under attack within the framework of the Russian’s aggression. As after the flood in the 1980s, people are again forced to move and this special connection between the past and the present and between Bakota’s inhabitants and displaced persons should be recounted.
The project spaces: Bakota Hub
The main project activities will be located in Bakota Hub, a cultural center in the Bakota district, created in 2021 by the organizers of the Respublica music and street art festival on the basis of a former abandoned school to provide people from different parts of Ukraine with space, time, and resources for development and recovery.
Originally created as a space for hosting art residencies, Bakota Hub has since evolved to serve a much broader purpose, constantly adapting to new challenges and needs. In 2022, they temporarily suspended artistic activities and turned the hub into a shelter for internally displaced persons (IDPs) for 1.5 years.
Today, those who lived in the hub have successfully integrated into the local community. In recent years, NGO Territory has developed projects for artists, youth, veterans and their families, IDPs, and other communities. Bakota Hub has become a magnet for artists, cyclists, yoga practitioners, and travelers, serves as a multi-functional space: an art residence, a platform for cultural and educational lectures, workshops, cultural center, hostel, and tourist destination, providing time, space, and resources for the recovery and development of diverse audiences. It is a year-round retreat for people from across the country seeking both personal and professional growth.
Over the past three years, the number of tourists visiting Horaivka has tripled, attracting young people and families who have already purchased homes and moved to the village. Ten murals, numerous artworks, and a local museum have been created, turning the village into a vibrant cultural hub.
What we'll do
International and local artists will meet during physical and digital transnational residencies and, together with inhabitants joining a series of storytelling laboratories, collectively write and draw an artistic guidebook reflecting their stories, personal accounts and visions for the future of Bakota Region. The guidebook is a result of a community editorial committee.
A co-design lab and a three-days training activity helps cultural operators, policy-makers, social workers, activists, to manage this art- based community process and develop a set of common guidelines and a toolbox. The community process is aligned with values and approaches inspired by the New European Bauhaus Compass, the Nonturismo methodology, and other methodologies explored during the lab.
A podcast narrates the art-based process tested during the project, showcasing also content collected during the artistic residency and a broader narrative on how the methodology was conceived and implemented.
Who we are
Fundacja Ziemniaki (PL) is a Warsaw-based cultural organisation and not-for-profit that encourages and nurtures early-career artists, designers, craftspeople, writers and curators. We believe that there is no future without culture. That’s why we’re driven to work together on improving access, visibility, and working conditions in the creative arts, and encouraging their positive role in an open and free society.
Khmelnytskyi Regional Youth Public Association ‘Territory (UKR) (Instagram) – is an institution that implements cultural, educational, and social projects aimed at developing local communities, cities, and regions. The organization actively promotes cross-sectoral interaction to foster the growth of communities and territories. In recent years, its activities have focused on the development of small territories through cultural and tourism projects, particularly the development of the Bakota region, where the organization’s art residency Bakota Hub (Instagram) is located.
Sineglossa (ITA) is a cultural organisation, based in Ancona and Bologna, that promotes the emerging of new models of sustainable development by applying contemporary art processes. Through the contamination between humanistic and scientific disciplines, we search for beautiful, sustainable and inclusive solutions. We create hybrid ecosystems involving artists, scientists, entrepreneurs and humanists – but also universities, public administrations and local communities. We believe in the fundamental social role of culture and strive to promote culture-based innovation. We are an official partner of the New European Bauhaus and curate Mangrovia, a magazine that tells other stories about culture, technology and society.
Credits
A Discovery Guide for Recovery is a project run by Sineglossa (IT), NGO Territory (UKR) and Fundacja Ziemniakii (PL), cofunded by Creative Europe programme of European Union.
This project has been co-funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme under grant agreement No 101173697. Views and opinions expressed on this page are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) can be held responsible for them.
