18 November 2025
“Memoria Orbis: Memory Sustains the World”: An Commemorative and Art Event on the Sidelines of the Crimea Global Conference
As part of the Third International Conference “Crimea Global. Understanding Ukraine Through the South,” a commemorative art evening titled “Memoria Orbis: Memory Holds the World” took place. The event was dedicated to Ukrainian artists killed by Russia, whose creative legacies continue to hold our shared world together.
The central message of the evening — its leitmotif — resonated throughout the entire program:
“Every loss changes the World. Memory does not fill the void, but it prevents the World from falling apart.”
The event began with a traditional moment of silence — in memory of the heroes whose stories were shared that evening, and of all those lost as a result of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
The first story of the evening was dedicated to Veronika (Nika) Kozhushko, a young artist from Kharkiv. The introductory video featured Nika’s poems narrated by Serhiy Zhadan, Ihor Kozhushko, and artist Hamlet Zinkivskyi, with her visual artworks displayed on screen.
Moderator Olha Olkhova — poet, cultural manager, and founder of LitCom — recalled that Nika had just completed her first year at university in Kharkiv. She practiced linocut, painted, volunteered at the Literary Museum, and researched the Executed Renaissance. At 19, she herself became part of this tragic continuity: on 30 August 2024, Nika was killed in a Russian airstrike on Kharkiv.
Nika’s parents, Ihor and Tetiana Kozhushko, travelled from Kharkiv for just a few hours to speak again about their daughter and the work of the charitable foundation “Nika Generation,” established in her memory and in memory of all talented Ukrainian children killed by Russia. They shared how every step they take is now connected with Nika’s name and the continuation of her mission.
The evening also featured a short video, “Nika on the Balcony,” with the poet’s own reading of her verse.
The second story honored Yaroslav Levytskyi — cinematographer, entrepreneur, and soldier. His segment began with a poignant video in which Yaroslav spoke about restoring family histories and searching for the embroidered shirt his grandfather had worn in the Norilsk labor camps, where he had been imprisoned for supporting and participating in the OUN–UPA.
The second story honored Yaroslav Levytskyi — cinematographer, entrepreneur, and soldier. His segment began with a poignant video in which Yaroslav spoke about restoring family histories and searching for the embroidered shirt his grandfather had worn in the Norilsk labor camps, where he had been imprisoned for supporting and participating in the OUN–UPA.
Yaroslav was born and raised in Chernivtsi, studied economics at Chernivtsi University, and served as a radio telegraph operator in Kherson. He later worked as a TV cameraman at the regional branch of the “5th Channel” and the media agency “ACC.” Deeply immersed in documenting history, he co-founded the iconic Chernivtsi cocktail bar “Kontrabanda” — a space of meetings, conversations, and new ideas. After the full-scale invasion began, Yaroslav volunteered and later joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine in May 2022. According to his wife, Iryna, he was the one who read books and exercised during the war — habits his comrades gradually adopted.
During the evening, the audience watched a video tribute from his friend and business partner Anton Panov, who spoke about Yaroslav in their circle of friends. Film director Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk also shared memories of their work on the documentary “Krasna Malanka” and other projects.
The third story was dedicated to artist and activist Davyd Chychkan.
The audience listened to an interview fragment in which Davyd reflected on his beliefs, on expressing political and ethical positions through art, on personal responsibility for defending freedom, and on his inner motivation to join the Defense Forces.
Afterward, Illia Vlasiuk — Davyd’s friend, comrade-in-arms, and long-time ally, who arrived directly from the front — took the floor. He spoke about their more than twenty years in the anarchist movement and Davyd’s remarkable integrity.The words of Davyd’s wife, Anna Tsyba, became one of the evening’s most memorable reflections:
“Davyd could have gone abroad, far from the war. But he could not accept it — it would not have contributed to building a more egalitarian and just society in Ukraine. He subordinated his personal interest — safety and the benefits of an already established reputation, including in the West — to the collective struggle against fascism and to the possibility of political change for the better.”
The audience was presented with Davyd’s final series of artworks, created between 2022 and his mobilization in 2023. Artist, curator, and researcher Oksana Briukhovetska spoke about this series and about Davyd as an artist, friend, and ideological companion.
The evening’s concluding story was devoted to Illia Chernilevskyi — musician, poet, translator of songs for global studios, and volunteer soldier.
For more than a decade, Illia translated songs for series and films produced by Disney, Universal, Sony, and Netflix; wrote his own poetry; and played guitar and piano. After the full-scale invasion began, he repeatedly went to the military enlistment office and, despite having no prior service experience, insisted on being mobilized — first to the Territorial Defense Forces and later to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
His parents, Olha Chernilevska and film director Stanislav Chernilevskyi, shared memories of Illia — a noble, self-demanding, kind-hearted, and extraordinarily hardworking young man. Their words were among the most emotional moments of the night.
Guests heard a recording of Illia performing his song “Youth,” as well as the composition “Blizzard,” performed by Vitalii Ponomarenko, to lyrics by Illia Chernilevskyi in a Ukrainian translation by poet and translator Olena O’Lir.
Closing the event, the moderator drew attention to the visual symbol explicitly created for the evening: the names of the fallen artists, interwoven into puzzle-like shapes that formed a single mosaic. This image embodied the idea that each person’s memory is part of a greater whole — a shared global canvas.
“To carry memory means to be worthy of it. Each of those we remembered today embodied a certain virtue — courage, love, generosity, justice, tenderness. And these virtues are what hold the world together,” the moderator concluded.
Guests received small commemorative pendants — a reminder that memory is not a burden but a form of life in which every “piece” matters.
The evening “Memoria Orbis: Memory Sustains the World” became a space where personal stories, art, and collective memory converged at a single point to testify: the war continues, but so does the light these people left behind — in texts, music, images, and in our responsibility to remember.
Organizers: Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea / Office of the Crimea Platform, ZMINA Human Rights Center, Human Rights Media Initiative.
Partners: Ukrainian Institute, PEN Ukraine, Truth Hounds, Media Center “Ukraine,” Transatlantic Dialogue Center.
The event is organised with the support of: The Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine (PFRU), the International Renaissance Foundation, the Prague Civil Society Centre, the Norwegian-Swedish Askold and Dir Fund, administered by ISAR Ednannia, and UN Women.