Kyiv’s Khanenko Museum receives prestigious international award for efforts during wartime

The Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Art has been internationally recognized for its excellence, winning the CIMAM 2024 Outstanding Museum Practice Award. This highly esteemed award acknowledges cutting-edge practices in contemporary art museums across the globe.

The museum's employees reported this on Facebook.

The International Committee of Museums and Collections of Contemporary Art (CIMAM) noted that despite its focus on classical art, the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Art impressed the jury with its ability to rethink its role during the war.

It has become not only a space for preserving art but also a center for solidarity, security, and resilience. In collaboration with contemporary artists, the museum has implemented programs that use modern approaches to respond to today's challenges.

CIMAM highlighted:

• the innovativeness of the Khanenko Museum's programs.
• involving contemporary artists in the creation of new museum practices.
• adaptability and the pursuit of inclusiveness in times of war.

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" For our institution, this is a crucial team distinction. It holds great value for us, mainly because the network of modern museums has recognized it despite our classical collection. We see this as an opportunity to disrupt the traditional norms with your collaboration.

And this is about the fact that not only the collection matters but also our practices and programs so that the museum works for the good of society – its history, its courage, its criticality, and growth," Yuliia Vahanova, General Director of the Khanenko Museum, said.

According to Vahanova, Zita Koob, the curator leading the remarkable project of uniting and building communities on Fogo Island, stated in her speech that every process and concept requires a specific physical location.

"When we talk about our solidarity and resilience, there are specific physical spaces where we physically do it. One of these spaces is the museum. Which also has the power to create context," she added.

As reported, the award was officially presented during the CIMAM General Assembly in Los Angeles. This achievement emphasizes the importance of the work of the entire museum team, partners, and visitors, who together transform the museum into a modern space that inspires and unites.

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It is worth mentioning that the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Art, in collaboration with the cultural and educational initiative "Without Gaps," is launching creative workshops for teenagers aged 14-18 in Kyiv.

The Kyiv Khanenko Museum and the MIR&CO PRODUCTION film studio created a short documentary film, "Shadows and Walls," about the institution's work during the full-scale Russian war.