KATYA BUCHATSKA IZYUM TO LIVERPOOL!
Ukrainian artist Katya Buchatska shows the film Izyum to Liverpool, which was screened in Liverpool Cathedral last spring when the UK hosted Ukraine's Eurovision Song Contest. The film takes us on a real-time journey of the escape route that many Ukrainians have made since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Starting with views of liberated Ukrainian regions and moving on to seemingly quieter Western cities, Izyum to Liverpool, depicts the war in Ukraine and the fragility of our environment, our lives and the landscape that surrounds us. A normal life can change in an instant. Even if you are in a safe environment, far from the front line, the sense of loss and uncertainty stays with you.

MY-MUSICAL COLLECTIVE AND PIDSOMA SHELTER
The collective behind My Musical, My-Musical Collective and Pidsoma Shelter, consists of artists and IDPs who live and work together in the premises of the cultural organisation soma.majsternia in Lviv. When they received an invitation to participate in Kindling, the soma.majsternia team got together to "brainstorm" about what they would like to do. Someone suggested that they create a musical about their shared experience of the war in Ukraine, thus transforming the shelter into an art residency.

The musical is divided into episodes that tell the story of the extraordinary multi-generational community that has formed around soma.majsternia. The performers sing about their dreams and wishes while training in martial arts, cooking for each other, and persevering in the midst of terrible uncertainty. In the words of Olha Marusyn, curator of the musical residency: "...There are things that are too hard to talk about; it's easier to sing."

OCCUPÉ-LIBRE
Co-habiting with the Kindling exhibition, a local group of artists, musicians, writers, and architects under the name Occupé-Libre are working on an exhibition and programmes that "occupy" one of the gateways for contemporary art on Gotland - the local art museum. The group meets in the building and occupies the different rooms with their individual and collective works. As a continuation of the occupation, they invite us to join them at CAFÉ OCCUPÉ to discuss what art and freedom of expression can be and what it means for different artistic practices. The café opens on three occasions 10, 18, 26 October 16:00-20:00.

Participating artists: Judith Dekker, Richard Hellgren, Petter Hellsing, Lies-Marie Hoffmann, Madeleine Jacobsson, Karin Lundgren-Tallinger, Polina Pohozha och Nataliia Popova.

Follow Occupé-Libre on Instagram: occupe_libre for updates on opening hours and events at the art museum.