"An Abandoned Coffee Shop": Artistic Communities and Their Spaces in Lviv

We invite you to a screening of the film "Abandoned Coffee Shop" ("Pokynuta Kavjarnia", Victor Neborak, 1994) and a discussion about the artistic communities of the 1990s in Lviv and their locations in the city.

Interaction between the city and artists can take many forms and have a variable nature. The city as a living organism becomes a source of inspiration for artists' work, providing context and resources. On the other hand, artists influence the city through their creations, which can transform public space, influence the visual image of the city, and contribute to the diversity of cultural life. The city inspires with its architecture, history, social dynamics, and cultural events. Artists can feel part of the urban environment and reflect it in their works. Urban spaces such as coffee shops become social centers where artists gather, interact and collaborate. They facilitate connections and the exchange of ideas, allowing for new insights inspired by other members of the community. Over time, these places become abandoned, as people move to new locations, change their routes, or eventually stop wandering.

Recently transferred to the Center's Urban Media Archive, Viktor Neborak's film "Abandoned Coffee Shop" (1994), which is part of Nazar Honchar's archive, is another good testimony to the importance of the relationship between the city and its "poets," the places where communities gather and communicate, their lives, and later their abandonment. In the film, Nazar Honchar, as a guide, accompanies the artists to the meeting points in the city and thus introduces the viewer to its characters and spaces. After the screening, we will have an opportunity to discuss why and how the city influences (or influenced) Lviv poets and artists, and how they in turn "transform" the city into an image, a sight, or a representation, where artistic communities gathered, and why these places were eventually deserted.

The conversation will be joined by

• Volodymyr Kaufman, artist, graphic artist, painter, performer, curator
• Olena Turyanska, artist, author of cut-outs, installations, objects and art books, interior designer
• Oleksandr Makhanets, historian, chief archivist of the Urban Media Archive at the Center for Urban History
• Bohdan Shumylovych, art historian, researcher at the Center for Urban History

The series of events "Nazar Honchar: A Significant Game" on the occasion of Nazar Honchar's 60th birthday takes place in Lviv from April 20 to May 21 at the Mystetska Biblioteka, Dim Zvuku, Dzyga, and the Center for Urban History.

Credits

Cover Image: Nazar Honchar in the "Abandoned Coffee Shop" film

Gallery: Ira Sereda