Maketank

10/08/2025

Dear Mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi, Андрій Садовий and all relevant municipal authorities,

As international theatre artists, producers, university lecturers and directors of the Devon Ukrainian Association, a community-led organisation dedicated to supporting Ukrainians living in Devon and across theSouth West of England, we are writing today to express our deep concern about the news that the Word and Voice Theatre Centre is being threatened with closure.

We have had the immense pleasure and honour of knowing and working with Word and Voice Theatre Centre’s artistic director, Nataliya Polovynka, Наталія Половинка since 2007. As one of the only living Ukrainians to have worked with the profoundly important theatre artist Jerzy Grotowski, Natalka is an essential part of a world tradition of embodied knowledge. Combining her experiences with Grotowski with her knowledge of Ukrainian traditional and classical music, Natalka has developed her own vocal methodology and approaches to stage and film performance. Her performance work has rightfully earned her the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine, but perhaps more importantly in the current existential war that Ukraine is fighting, Natalka and her collaborators have re-enlivened the traditional liturgy of Irmos. In so doing, the Word andVoice Theatre Centre have been singing Irmos for Ukraine across Europe sinceMarch 2022. We produced two UK cultural diplomacy tours for Word andVoice (August 2022 and January 2023) which included concerts of Irmos for Ukraine, screenings of ‘Mother of Apostles’ and ‘Pamfir’, as well as workshops, meetings and press interviews. These tours reached nearly 2000 people. The British audiences were deeply moved by experiencing Word and Voice, and we are consistently asked when they might be returning.

We firmly believe that Word and Voice’s Слово і голос / Word and voice unique mixture of ancient spiritual prayer with traditional Ukrainian songs and contemporary aesthetics is a living source of Ukraine’s cultural heritage. As the Russian war of aggression directly aims at destroying this very heritage, we implore you to continue to support the work of Word and Voice and its artistic director Natalka Polovynka. Lviv has long been the epicentre of Ukrainian identity and history. It would be a travesty if the city’s officials were to be recorded in future history books as purposefully dimming an essential part of Ukrainian heritage. We look forward to visiting Word and Voice in their Lviv theatre soon and to hosting them again for another cultural diplomacy tour in the coming year. Slava Ukraini and Glory to Word and Voice!

Sincerely, Dr Bryan Brown and Olya Petrakova
Artistic directors of Maketank Cultural Laboratory

27/11/2024

A little behind the scenes from the MA Creativity students at the University of Exeter, who are currently preparing for their open studio next week! 🙌

As part of the Idea Generation and the Creative Process module, MA Creativity students have been given the challenge of creating a project for Exeter as a Creative City. The group must work collaboratively as well as manage the complex logistics of developing a conceptual business solution culminating in a business pitch.

The Open Studio will be an opportunity for students to showcase their work in progress in concert. A small reception at the door will provide drinks and nibbles. The students would highly appreciate your feedback - so grab a ticket if you can!

Read more & Ticket here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ma-creativity-2425-presents-open-studio-tickets-1096064982869?aff=oddtdtcreator

26/11/2024

You've had a flat white, but have you had a flat red? Created by Ukraine's best coffee maker & UK Coffee Championship, Vadym Granovskiy, this mulled-wine-like coffee drink originated from a place to support Ukraine’s resistance and fight for freedom.

We're glad to have Vadym with us this Friday (29th) evening 6-7:30 PM, who will be talking to us about Ukraine’s surprising contributions to European coffee culture, dating back to the 17th century. Further, the talk will end with a special tasting session for the flat red coffee! ☕❤

More info & reserve your spot for the event here: https://www.dua.org.uk/events/ukraine-and-coffee-hidden-heritage

04/07/2024

Dear friends, please come and support Ukraine and our Ukrainian community in Devon, by taking part in watching this remarkable story at Exeter Phoenix on JULY 10, WEDNESDAY, 5:30 PM.
The documentary film "Da Vinci" is a story about the outstanding Ukrainian warrior and freedom fighter Dmytro Kotsyubail, who, after experiencing all the dangers of the revolution on the Maidan in 2014, went to the front as an 18-year-old boy to defend the country against the Russians.
For 9 years in the war, Dmytro became a legendary commander, who, through his courage and dedication, served as an example for many soldiers.
In December 2021, President Volodymyr Zelensky presented Kotsiubailo with the nation's highest award - the Golden Star order - as well as the title of Hero of Ukraine.
Dmytro became the youngest commander to receive the title, as well as the first volunteer fighter in the history of Ukraine to be awarded while still alive.
The film aims not only to tell in detail the life story of this great warrior but also to explore the evolution of his formation as a patriot and defender.
When: JULY 10, WEDNESDAY, 5:30 PM
Location: Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter EX4 3LS
📌Ticket: £10
📌To purchase: https://www.dua.org.uk/events/da-vinchi-documentary-film-dokumentalniy-film-da-vinchi
The film has English subtitles.
All proceeds from the ticket price will go towards the medical needs of the battalion "Da Vinci".

Screening&discussion/ Показ та обговорення

04/07/2024

Dear friends, please come and support Ukraine and our Ukrainian community in Devon, by taking part in watching this remarkable story at Exeter Phoenix on JULY 10, WEDNESDAY, 5:30 PM.

The documentary film "Da Vinci" is a story about the outstanding Ukrainian warrior and freedom fighter Dmytro Kotsyubail, who, after experiencing all the dangers of the revolution on the Maidan in 2014, went to the front as an 18-year-old boy to defend the country against the Russians.

For 9 years in the war, Dmytro became a legendary commander, who, through his courage and dedication, served as an example for many soldiers.

In December 2021, President Volodymyr Zelensky presented Kotsiubailo with the nation's highest award - the Golden Star order - as well as the title of Hero of Ukraine.

Dmytro became the youngest commander to receive the title, as well as the first volunteer fighter in the history of Ukraine to be awarded while still alive.

The film aims not only to tell in detail the life story of this great warrior but also to explore the evolution of his formation as a patriot and defender.
When: JULY 10, WEDNESDAY, 5:30 PM
Location: Exeter Phoenix, Gandy St, Exeter EX4 3LS
📌Ticket: £10
📌To purchase: https://www.dua.org.uk/events/da-vinchi-documentary-film-dokumentalniy-film-da-vinchi
The film has English subtitles.
All proceeds from the ticket price will go towards the medical needs of the battalion "Da Vinci".

25/06/2024

People in the photos - 1: Volodymyr Vakulenko, Ukrainian poet, and children's writer, executed by Russian forces in 2022 and thrown into a mass grave. 2: The novelist turned poet and war crimes investigator, Victoria Amelina. She was killed in July 2023 after a missile struck the pizza restaurant where she was dining. 3: The soldier-poet Maksym Kryvtsov, was struck down in January 2024 only a short time after the publication of his collection, Verses from the Trench.

Many more than the recorded 110 writers and artists have been killed by Russian forces in Ukraine. Russia’s hybrid war targets the Ukrainian language and culture, destroying libraries and printing houses, literally burning books and those who make them. These silenced voices bear posthumous testimony to the inspiring yet tragically vulnerable spirit of Ukrainian resistance.

We'd like to invite you to join us at the Voices from and Endangered Culture: Ukrainian Wartime Poetry, with the prize-winning Ukrainian poets Yuliya Musakovska, Olena Huseinova, and Hanna Khriakova, international manager of the Lviv UNESCO City of Literature. They carry the voices of their lost friends and comrades and share those who are defending Ukraine now, of soldier-poets on the front line, and of writers and artists on the home front and the international stage, doing all they can to preserve a people and culture faced with a brute force that seeks only to destroy.

Tue 02 July 2024, 7pm - 8pm at the Workshop of Exeter Phoenix. Pay what you desire. Proceeds will go to Hospitallers, a Ukrainian voluntary paramedic organization working to save lives on the front line.

Book here: https://exeterphoenix.org.uk/events/voices-from-an-endangered-culture-ukrainian-wartime-poetry/

25/04/2024

If you're wondering what we've been up to...

Well, one of the (many) things that we're doing is this programme called IM/MERGE - we feel so lucky that we've been working with a group of young people who have some of the most exciting ideas about the future of Exeter! With all participants coming from immigrant and global majority backgrounds, they have been prototyping a community space for Exeter’s diverse communities. We would love it if you could come to their open studio event this Saturday, where you can experience their ideas through engaging activities, experiences, and food!

RSVP here to let us know that you're coming! https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/immerge-open-studio-tickets-890340250657

Made possible with the support of Engage, the National Association for Gallery Education and Take a Part, under the Art Encounters programme 🙌✨

20/04/2024

“Those who say it can’t be done are usually interrupted by others doing it.”

"Notes of a Native Son"
By James Baldwin
Notes of a Native Son is a collection of ten essays by James Baldwin, published in 1955, mostly tackling issues of race in America and Europe.

19/04/2024

Have you heard of a 'Kobzar'? Originating around the sixteenth century in Ukraine, a Kobzar was an itinerant bard who often sang with a plucked stringed musical instrument, Kobza. However, during the Soviet times, many kobzars were put to death by the authorities - this led to the end of kobzardom, with Kobza also left disused for almost a century. Luckily, since the 1980s, Ukrainian musicians have started on the mission to revive the Kobza and Kobzar culture, with many modern-day Kobzars sharing this once-lost cultural gem with the world 💙💛

With that, we're thrilled to announce that Jurij Fedynskyj, a leading performer of the Kobzar art and a leader in the preservation of Ukrainian musical tradition, is coming to Exeter soon! Touring across the UK & Ireland, 'The Kobzar's Prayer for Ukraine' features a fascinating demonstration of the lost, national instruments of Ukraine through film, concert, and talk.

Do not miss this unique opportunity to see a modern-day Kobzar in person - RSVP at dua.org.uk/kobzar to secure a seat! 🎼