Free audiovisual studios for young people from Cultural Platform Zakarpattya NGO and UNICEF will be installed in 20 Ukrainian communities
Kontenta is the first mobile audiovisual studio in Ukraine to aid the development of young people in creative industries, allowing the participants to record, edit and mix their tracks. The first setup was launched in Chernihiv, in a Regional Youth Center. During the official opening of the studio and the presentation of the project, the participants attended a music workshop by composer Yevhen Filatov (The Maneken) and a live performance by BRYKULETS, recorded a podcast, and held their own event “Veresaika” with the help of Kontenta. The project is implemented by the Cultural Platform of Zakarpattya NGO with the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Ukraine. 19 more Kontenta studios will be installed in different communities across Ukraine; the location selection is still ongoing.
Kontenta is a free multifunctional mobile studio. It gives young people the opportunity to work individually, conduct group classes and lectures, record vocals and musical instruments, and shoot video blogs as well as podcasts. Due to the studio’s portable design, it is easy to transport and move anywhere. Kontenta will be available for work during the youth center’s opening hours so that young people have a chance to use all the equipment for free.
“When the negative influence of anxiety plummets, it becomes very difficult to explain our feelings with words that convey exactly how we feel and with such details as to reproduce our vision of reality. When we are in a state of incredible happiness or incredible sadness, words cannot explain how we feel inside. Understanding your feelings and the mental states of others paves the way to emotional well-being. Kontenta follows the tradition of using collaborative music creation for processing emotions and supporting the mental health of young people, and symbolically embodies the historical persistence of musical practices in Ukraine starting from Kobzar Dumas to the streaming services of the 21st century,” comments Yevhen Zabarylo, co-founder and chairman of the board of the Cultural Platform of Zakarpattya NGO.
The studio’s technical setup allows the users to:
- record vocals and instruments;
- mix music tracks;
- record and shoot podcasts;
- launch streams and live broadcasts;
- work with licensed software Ableton Live and Native Instruments.
In the studio, teenagers and young people will be able to exercise their right to self-expression, develop their personal projects, and explore Ukrainian musical traditions. The classes held in the studio establish mutual emotional support, increase the youth’s social cohesion, and generally improve their mental health levels, especially during war.
The main goals of Kontenta are: to popularize practices from the field of creative industries, improve the creative skills of teenagers and young people in Ukrainian communities to ensure the sustainability of the creative economy, promote the development of emotional intelligence, and improve the mental health of Kontenta’s participants.
“Creative economy, especially now, is a very important direction for development. I started playing music more than 20 years ago, and I made it here all by myself, through self-education. I believe that such initiatives are crucial to shorten this path,” comments composer and musician Yevhen Filatov (The Maneken).
The technical setup of Kontenta is a comprehensive solution for audiovisual content creation and includes equipment such as microphones, studio monitors, a camera, studio headphones, a sound card, a capture card, a computer, a controller, a softbox, racks, tripods, and licensed digital software: Ableton Live and Native Instruments.
Kontenta will operate through the social franchise model. The Cultural Platform of Zakarpattya NGO will assist youth centers in setting up and launching studios, as well as mentoring and supporting their further activities. In general, Kontenta can be installed in two formats: as a full-fledged mobile studio or through the integration of technical equipment into the existing premises of youth centers.
The project was developed by the Cultural Platform of Zakarpattya NGO and the FORMA architectural office with the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Ukraine. In 2024, twenty Kontenta studios will be set up in various youth centers across the country. The selection of communities where these audiovisual studios will operate is still ongoing. You can contact the team on behalf of the community via e-mail at hello@cultpz.org
Yana Polupanova
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