The Ukrainian Debate on Colonial Sites of Memory in Public Spaces
In her project, Kateryna Demerza approaches the debate on colonial sites of memory in public spaces from a Ukrainian perspective. Her project aims to review and develop issues relating to monuments and public spaces in times of war. Through the perspective of the war in and against Ukraine, she intends to discuss questions of contested history and memory, and put in question the role of monuments in public spaces and the possible ways of rethinking the idea and function of monuments and the debates surrounding them. Are the monuments in question in Ukraine part of a colonial history, present or future? Why were they erected and how are they perceived? Her project aims to deal with topics such as multicultural and multiethnic dimensions of public spaces, questions of propaganda and monuments, and shifting ways of commemoration. Her personal intention is to relate the Ukrainian story of dealing with monumental heritage into a greater context that may open up a better understanding of the complexity and to new questions of Ukrainian history and its marginal place in Western studies.
