theartsdesk Radio Show 33: Ukraine special - musicians and artists direct from Ukraine, with co-host Anastasia Piliavsky

The latest edition of Peter Culshaw’s occasional global radio shows focuses totally on Ukraine, looking at music, art, culture and resistance.

Culshaw has reported over the years on the Odessa Film and Jazz festivals for theartsdesk, and written for the Odessa Review, Songlines and the Guardian on Ukrainian music and film. He argues that Ukraine was becoming too attractive, democratic, hip and culturally and technologically innovative – and that such a flowering had to be stamped out by Russia before it spread. We also discuss whether World War 3 has actually started.

His co-pilot for the whole two hour show is Anastasia Piliavsky, a Ukrainian-born anthropologist and self-confessed “Odessist” who has paused her academic career to raise money for Ukraine. Her direct aid campaign is more nimble and less bureaucratic than many conventional charities, see here. 

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Guests:

Ruslana Khalipova is a musician/activist and member of Dakh Daughters; she was in Normandy, rehearsing a new show.

Vitaly Tchakuk is a wonderful musician specialising in oud and bansuri flute, whose band Café Damask illustrate an East-West aesthetic (all gigs are off, but he is doing online sessions at Musiversal). We spoke to him in Odessa.

Volodymyr Pivtorak, a well-known local Odessa historian.

Menahim-Mendel Shatkhin, a Rabbi from Odessa.

Volodymyr Rudenko, excellent opera composer from Kyiv.

Darya Kutsova, a leading Ukrainian artist (in Berlin)

Alisa Lozhkina, art historian and curator whose book Permanent Revolution is the key book on modern Ukrainian Art.

Fyodor Pavlov-Andreevich was the token Russian we talked to briefly, an extraordinary performance artist and anti-Putinist who helps Ukrainian refugees in London and was just back from Moscow, where he was trying to talk his mother into leaving. 

Playlist:

Dakha Brakha - Karpatskiy Rep

Dakh Daughters - Rozy

Makhno Project - Odessa Mama

Café Damask - Part 1

Meshouge Klezmer Band - Ukrainian Memory

OMFO - Montseaul 2000

Vlad Fisun feat Fagot + Eva - Blackboy

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