Tранслювати Українy | Broadcast Ukraine

The Catskills presents Tранслювати Українy | Broadcast Ukraine , an online exhibition of Ukrainian artists. Working with Ukrainian artists to create an online exhibition and mapping of contemporary artists in Ukraine, the artists were asked who they thought we should show to our mostly New York based online audience. Starting in the first week of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian artists gave personal recommendations; which artists they thought the Catskills should present during the war, for whatever reasons they chose.

Whether reflecting the war in a diaristic mode, or in past works that subtly reveal the contemporary Ukrainian world and spirit, each artist contributed to a greater whole that communicated something larger and more complex than what can be seen on American media. This is a way for an American audience to understand the war from the perspective of the artists and others living in Ukraine through social media as well as from artwork. Many Ukrainian artists’ social media accounts during the war feature information and images that challenge a relatively sanitized media coverage.

Many of the artists attended school together, visited each other’s exhibitions, or followed each other online anonymously. There is a wide range of ages, and there are distinctly Eastern European aesthetics at play. In art works that directly address the war, there are echoes of graphics from the past, but also a great many inventions regarding how to pictorially focus what is happening: in Bucha, Mariupol, Kyiv bomb shelters, migrations from Lviv to Poland , and abroad as witnesses.

As the founder of the Catskills, I can say that I am proud that the gallery can devote its entire online presence to Ukrainian artists at this time. I originally named the gallery after the legendary “Borscht-Belt”, which was a series of entertainment venues that catered to Jews from Eastern Europe. Many of these were Ukrainian, Polish, and Russian Jews escaping the kind of violence and persecution being wrought on Contemporary Ukraine. I have always deeply respected the artwork and culture of Eastern Europes, and I’m proud to show solidarity with these artists.

Please consider donating a support payment to the artists directly. The artists can in turn distribute the money locally, if they choose to, to the military, or for their own sustainability during the war. These are people that know better than any NGO or charity where money should go. Thank you for supporting these artists in any way you can, and through following their work.

Sincerely, Sam Bornstein, Founder of The Catskills.