The Ukrainian Institute and cultural development agency Port will on March 16, 2023 present “Grains of Culture” – the final installment of The Wall project in Nairobi.
The Wall has already been presented in Vienna, Berlin, Marseille, and Brussels, and this final mural will bring together Ukrainian and Kenyan artists to showcase the idea of interaction and synergy between different cultures.
“Ukraine is dealing with an external demon. The Wall project allows us to discuss the world’s attitude towards Ukraine. We wish to rethink this idea and look at the mental and historical wall that separates us. And which must be eliminated so that we feel like a single community,” Katya Taylor, Port. CEO and founder, and curator of The Wall says.
The special guests for the opening event will be “Tvorchi,” a Ukrainian electronic duo who will represent Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.
The Wall symbolizes resistance, stability, and armor that fences off the civilized world from war.
The project’s title refers to the Pink Floyd album “The Wall,” which tells the story of a hero behind a wall who must confront his inner demons.
“The murals are our response to Russian brutal aggression on the cultural front in the civil war which Putin has launched,” says Emine Dzhaparova, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
Since February 24, 2022, Russian invaders have damaged 514 cultural sites – at least 174 religious sites, 38 museums, 38 historic buildings, 38 buildings dedicated to cultural activities, 18 monuments, 10 libraries, and 2660 educational institutions,”
The six Ukrainian and Kenyan artists involved in the Nairobi project have created murals that depict symbols and ideas close to the hearts of both Ukrainian and Kenyan people.
