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An interview with Ihor Poshyvailo, director of the National Memorial to the Heavenly Hundred Heroes and Revolution of Dignity Museum (Maidan Museum) in Kyiv. Interviewer: Tomasz Lachowski

National Memorial to the Heavenly Hundred Heroes and Revolution of Dignity Museum initiates the second open expert discussion in the format of the multidisciplinary scientific forum on November 19–20, 2020 in Kyiv, Ukraine. The focus topic of the Forum–2020: “Postmodern Revolutions: the EuroMaidan revolution in the context of global protest movements of the late 20th – early 21st century”. The Forum’s discussion is devoted to research of new types of revolutions, historiography and methodology of protest movements as well as their typological and genetic connections, essential characteristics, causes, timeline, specifics, outcomes and impact, and their terminology including the definition of ‘color/velvet revolution’ in representing such phenomena.

In February 2020 over 200 museum workers from different continents joined symposium in Washington to discuss the topic "Current Approaches to the Conservation of Conflict-Affected Heritage". The symposium was organized by "Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative", "Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute",  "ICOM Disaster Risk Management Committee" and supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation". Corine Wegener — the director of the Smithsonian Institution Culture Rescue Initiative — briefly explains the goals of the event. "Our mission is to protect cultural heritage threatened or impacted by disasters. And to help the USA and international communities to preserve their identity and history. One way we pursue our mission is to host a research symposium, bringing in scholars and practitioners from around the world to share their work".

"I was going to “National Memorial to the Heavenly Hundred Heroes and Revolution of Dignity Museum-Maidan” voluntarily, but I did not know anything about Ukraine or the museum. Besides this, I had so many questions on my mind: What is memory? What is forgetting? What is the meaning of the “sites of memory”? I gave some answers to myself but I had to think more broadly, and this program was a great opportunity to deepen my thoughts in these fields. Undoubtedly, this journey, like any journey, would lead to new questions while providing some answers. At the end of the day, I was right: I had some answers, but also I had new questions on my mind, too.

From the first moment I started preparations for this journey, I started to make researches about the Maidan demonstrations. I was remembering the protests that started in November 2013 in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Although I could not have enough information due to being in prison at that time, the news of the demolished Lenin statue and the protests made by extreme right-wingers led me to an antipathy. It was the time to question what I know, what I am sure of. And actually I like to do this", – Ufuk Aydın / Volunteer of beraberce Xchange Program: Sites of Memory 2019.

Exhibitions, plays, concerts, movie screening, installations, presentations of books and videos, lectures, sports tournaments, social commercials will be happening soon due to the Day of the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred of 2019. One extraordinary event is also planned. Results of an all-Ukrainian social survey about the Revolution of the Dignity organized by our museum will be published. We are presenting dozens of events in towns and cities throughout the Ukraine dedicated to the 5th anniversary of the Revolution of Dignity.

Starting from 1978 every two years the prize of the European society of Kudengau-Kalergi was going on a person who made remarkable actions for uniting Europe. This year The Heavenly Hundred was awarded, due to their undescribable heroism and bravery. They all sacrificed their lives on Maidan in the fight for human rights and European values. Ihor Zhaloba, head of the Pan-European association of Ukraine shares worries he had before awarding "Altogether with my European colleagues we were thinking about how to give this award. How will prince Nicolaus von Liechtenstein, as a representer of the whole European society of Kudengau-Kalergi, award the whole Heavenly Hundred? It would be kind of problematic to invite all the families with all the relatives. And that is when we thought about the Museum of Maidan".

‘Revolutionize!’ exhibition opens on November 21st at Mystetskyi Arsenal. It is an international research and exhibition project that brings together art and museum institutions from Ukraine and the Netherlands. 36 contemporary artists and art groups from 15 countries through the language of installation, painting, multimedia, video and photo speak about the revolutionary events, and analyze the revolution as a social phenomenon. A personal, critical, and retrospective view focuses on a special historical event – the Revolution of Dignity. The exhibition also presents artifacts from the National Museum of the Revolution of Dignity collection.

The Museum of the Revolution of Dignity conducted an excursion dedicated to the events of EuroMaydan, for 34 students from the village of Yareski, Poltava region and their mentors from the USA who have been working in Ukraine for a year.

Young people are members of the Summer School for Fellowship at Scholars and Talented Rural Youth, organized by the Fulbright Program together with the Foundation.

The national memorial complex of Heroes of Heavenly Hundreds - the Museum of the Revolution of Dignity and the architectural bureau "Kleihues + Kleihues Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH" - the winner of the contest announce the search for the general designer for the museum building.

The youngest artist Georgy Potopalsky and the "SVITER art-group" formation became the winners of the creative competition for the award of the name of Sergey Nigoyan. They got the funds for the implementation of the art installation.

The results of the open competition for the best project proposal for the monument to the Heroes of Heavenly Hundred were announced in Odessa. The press service of the Odessa Regional Council informs, that the winners have been chosen through open voting. Among the 16 works, project “Rune”, created by Odessa artists (sculptor, Honored artist of Ukraine Mykhailo Reva and architects Fedor Boytsov and Sergei Guranchik) had won.

On second and third places are projects submitted by groups of authors led by sculptors Vasily Mironenko and Volodymyr Koren. The "Rune" is a human figure in the shape of a cross, mounted on a granite plane with the names of the Heroes of Heavenly Hundreds engraved on it. At night, the illumination will be turned on and the monument will shine in the lights directed into the sky. The sculpture is planned to be installed on Taras Shevchenko Avenue next to the first administrative building -- the Odessa Regional Council.

This Saturday, July 28, in Lviv at 11 a.m. will be a commemorative prayer for the dead ATO soldiers and Heroes of Heavenly Hundreds. The prayers are led by the military pastors of the garrison church of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul.

Employees of the National Museum of the Revolution of Dignity visited the "Birthday of the Hero of Heavenly Hundred" - a regular event dedicated to the fallen heroes of the Maidan.

Recently, the National Memorial of the Heroes of Heavenly Hundred  - the Museum of the Revolution of Dignity and the architectural bureau "Kleihues + Kleihues Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH", the winner of the "Museum of the Revolution of Dignity" nomination, announced the search for a general

The creative association of film documentaries "Babylon13" handed over to the Maidan Museum about 300 hours of recorded events of the Ukrainian civil protest from 2013-2014.

On August 14 in the Odesa Museum of Literature was opening of the exhibition "MAYDAN: SPACE OF ART". It presents works created during the Revolution of Dignity by the Kyiv students of the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture.

The National Museum of the Revolution of Dignity is looking for materials related to recent historical events to replenish collections. We will be grateful for the material and intangible evidence of the Maidan.

In Chernihiv, the volunteers restored the memory wall of the Heroes of Heavenly Hundred.

The Wall of Heavenly Hundred in Chernihiv was established in 2014 on the square where the local Euromaidan took place.