Ukrainian performance artist sheds light on challenges faced by farmers during war

A solo performance by Ukrainian artist Maria Proshkovska called "Farina" took place at the Museum of Modern Art in Bologna, Bazilik.media reports.

What is the problem?

The performance is part of Ukraine's cultural diplomacy to remind the people of Italy of what challenging conditions Ukrainian farmers work in amid the war. Risking their lives during the Russian shelling, they collect crops and process grain — Ukrainian fields turn into real battlefields.

What is the solution?

At the center of this project was the non-stop flour-making from Ukrainian grain, which Russia tried to destroy. Without resting for five hours, the artist demonstrated to the audience the painstaking process of milling grain with a manual millstone.

The event was made possible thanks to the collaboration between the artist and project curators Lorenzo Balbi and Giulia Pezzoli. Last year, the municipality of Bologna and the Italian art coordinators invited Maria and her son for a long-term residence. With this performance, Maria also expresses her gratitude to the city and its residents for the warmth and shelter they gave her family during the first months of the full-scale war.

How does it work?

The choice of the performance venue in the MAMbo Museum's historical space was not accidental. Proshkovska, Balbi, and Pezzoli intended to remind the audience about the ancient and fundamental importance of the bread supply and the humanitarian role of the museum building in Via Don Giovanni Minzoni assumed during the First World War, distributing bread to locals.

This special project was put to fruition with the support of the AIDA Foundation. The artist's dress was provided by the Ukrainian designer Lilia Pustovit.

Background

Artist Maria Proshkovska, born in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 1986, focuses her work on gender studies, the impact of trauma on society, and feminism. She is a laureate of the special award of the MUHi2017 young artists competition, a special award of VOGUE magazine, a participant of the American Arts Incubator in Ukraine, and a scholarship holder of the Women in Conflict 1325 Fellowship Program in Scotland.

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