{"id":52059,"date":"2026-09-13T15:41:31","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T15:41:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sineglossa.it\/?p=52059"},"modified":"2026-10-03T08:42:04","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T08:42:04","slug":"discover-the-new-guide-bakota-a-portal-to-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sineglossa.it\/en\/news-en\/discover-the-new-guide-bakota-a-portal-to-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"Discover the new guide \u201cBakota: A Portal to Ukraine\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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What it\u2019s about<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The journey of Discovery Guide<\/a> continues, our project that takes the approach to place-based storytelling developed through Nonturismo<\/a> beyond Italy\u2019s borders.<\/p>

Following the international call<\/a> through which, last year, we selected six artists<\/a> for a residency in Ukraine, the outcome of that work is now available: Bakota: A Portal to Ukraine<\/strong><\/em>, a travel guide dedicated to the Bakota region in south-western Ukraine, published in English and Ukrainian in a limited edition.<\/p>

Six itineraries created by three Ukrainian and three international artists, together with the podcast<\/strong> Silence Behind the Frontlines<\/em><\/strong>, guide readers through the discovery of a territory shaped by history and, today, by the consequences of war.<\/p>

At Sineglossa, we were responsible for the coordination, concept development and artistic direction, working alongside Territory NGO,<\/a> a Ukrainian cultural organisation that managed the residency programme and community engagement, and Fundacja Ziemniaki i,<\/a> a Warsaw-based cultural foundation working to improve access, visibility and working conditions in the creative arts sector, which was responsible for the editorial project and publication.<\/p>

The guide was produced as part of A Discovery Guide for Recovery<\/strong>, co-funded by the European Union\u2019s Creative Europe programme.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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What is Bakota?<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Bakota is the name of a <\/span>medieval town in western Ukraine<\/strong> and the <\/span>surrounding villages that were submerged in the 1980s following the construction of the Novodnistrovska Hydroelectric Power Plant<\/strong>. Today, the area stretches along the Dniester River reservoir, encompassing new settlements that emerged on the shores of the artificial lake, such as <\/span>Horaivka and Stara Ushytsia<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>

Although far from the front line, it is a place deeply affected by the consequences of war. Exploring a landscape of such complexity means applying the practice of excavation and listening that has long guided our investigation of territories, mapping the absences, memories and boundaries that continue to redefine them.<\/p>

To translate this perspective into action on the ground, the research took shape around Bakota Hub<\/a>. Established in 2021 in a former abandoned school<\/strong> near the Moldovan border, and converted for over a year into a shelter for internally displaced people after the outbreak of the conflict<\/strong>, the Hub is now a vibrant cultural centre<\/strong>.<\/p>

In a territory that is continuously renegotiating its identity, it provides a physical space where long-time residents, veterans and new communities can meet and recognise one another. It became the operational base for the residency coordinated by the Territory NGO team, where six artists from Ukraine, France, the Netherlands and Poland, selected from more than 250 applications, lived and worked<\/strong>. Through daily conversations with local residents, teachers, geologists and institutions, as well as through the exploration of archives, the artists gathered the testimonies and materials that now form the guide\u2019s six itineraries<\/strong>.<\/p>

In the spirit of Nonturismo and following in the footsteps of the Sarajevo Survival Guide<\/em>, the guide subverts conventional tourist narratives to convey, from within, the lived experience of contemporary Ukraine.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Inside the guide<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Published as a bilingual English-Ukrainian edition in a limited run of 600 copies, Bakota: A Portal to Ukraine<\/em> goes beyond the traditional format of a guidebook to become a book-object in its own right.<\/p>

Inside, the reading experience becomes tangible and sensory: artist Camille Bleu-Valentin<\/strong> created an insert made of organic, biodegradable bioplastic containing dried local medicinal herbs, while the three letters written by Bohdana Korohod<\/strong> \u2014 addressed to water, earth and air \u2014 trace an intimate dialogue with the landscape and the people who continue to inhabit it.<\/p>

Alongside these explorations and the contributions of the other artists, the book retains some of the traditional tools of travel storytelling:<\/p>