The KONTENTA audiovisual studies project continues its journey. On the 22nd and 23rd of October, the Cultural Platform team opened the sixteenth studio for sound and video work in Oleksandriia.
This is the second studio in the Kirovohrad region. The first one has been operating in the “Koma” Youth Centre in Kropyvnytskyi since April 2024.
On 22 October, the Cultural Platform team opened the sixteenth KONTENTA studio at the ‘Druhyi Poverh’ Youth Space in Oleksandriia. Now the youth will be able to conduct individual studio work, group educational and cultural events, record vocals and musical instruments, and shoot video blogs, podcasts, and make live broadcasts directly from their community.
“I am confident that the studio will provide an environment where individuals can fully realize their creative potential,’
said Inna Chemerys, Deputy Mayor of Oleksandriia.
‘This is a significant opportunity for both the development of young people and the city as a whole. Those who acquire new skills will be able to make a meaningful contribution to Oleksandriia’s growth. They will play a key role in helping the community become more successful and recognized across Ukraine.”
Oleksandriia is the city where the world-renowned Ukrainian scholar Dmytro Chyzhevskyi—a researcher of Ukrainian and Slavic literature, cultural history, philosophy, religious thought, Slavic spirituality and the literature of European mysticism—was born and spent his youth.
During his student years, Dmytro Chyzhevskyi founded a self-education club for young people in Oleksandriia, where they explored politics, history, and literature through essays and group discussions. At Chyzhevskyi’s library, they could borrow books banned by the censors and engage in critical debates with a circle of talented peers eager to expand their knowledge and enhance their ability for self-expression, thus strengthening one another’s insights through reflection on the world around them.
At just 27, Chyzhevskyi was a candidate for the post of Minister of Labour, the key economic position in the Ukrainian government. Despite his young age, he possessed the expertise and linguistic skills necessary for the role.
Dmytro had studied ancient languages at the Faculty of History and Philology at St. Volodymyr University in Kyiv. His active involvement in political life—he was elected to the Minor Council of the Ukrainian government in 1918—led to his escape to Poland and then Germany after the Bolshevik occupation of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, where he faced the threat of imprisonment and a death sentence.
In Germany, Chyzhevskyi attended philosophy courses at the Universities of Heidelberg and Freiburg, where renowned thinkers like Karl Jaspers, Martin Heidegger, and Edmund Husserl taught. Jaspers, one of the founders of existentialism, emphasized themes such as human existence, freedom of choice, and the search for meaning in life. Contemporary Ukrainian philosopher Anastasiia Tarasova observes:
“To summarize, I propose that Jaspers introduces the national, ethnic, and cultural dimensions of existence into philosophy. There is a notable parallel here, as Chyzhevskyi wrote extensively on the national history of philosophy and, similar to Jaspers’ theory of axial time, viewed philosophy as the self-awareness of a particular ethnic group or people.”
Husserl’s phenomenological method became the foundation for Chyzhevskyi’s approach to studying the history of philosophy and cultural movements in Eastern Europe, particularly the philosophy of Hryhorii Skovoroda. Chyzhevskyi’s reflections on the Man of the Ukrainian Baroque period—embodied in Skovoroda’s philosophy—are central to his intellectual legacy.
“The Baroque is a synthetic movement that rejects the transparent harmony of the Renaissance for the sake of complex diversity,
The Baroque plays with opposites, strives to embrace the whole world,
It loves the theme of death and theatricalizes the sermon,Seeks strong impressions and has no fear of the new.”
Chyzhevskyi’s circle of friends included prominent figures such as Yurii Klen, a member of the Circle of Ukrainian Neoclassicists The Quintuple Cluster, which was led by M. Rylskyi; Yevhen Malaniuk, a centurion in the Ukrainian People’s Republic (UPR) Army and poet known as the “Emperor of Iron Stanzas”; Panas Fedenko, a Ukrainian politician and member of the Ukrainian Central Rada; and Omelian Pritsak, a key figure in developing the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (HURI), where he established the center’s publishing program, including the scientific journals Minutes of the Seminar in Ukrainian Studies, Recenzija: A Review of Soviet Ukrainian Scholarly Publications, Harvard Ukrainian Studies, and the multi-volume Series in Ukrainian Harvard Studies.
The Department of Philology at the university, one of its three main departments, was later named in honor of Dmytro Chyzhevskyi. This community of committed intellectuals, though physically dispersed across different countries, remained deeply connected to Ukraine, contributing to its cultural and political life. Despite the challenges of political instability, they maintained strong ties with scholars and figures around the world, continuously engaging in self-development, exploring Ukrainian culture and national identity, and playing active roles in the political affairs of their homeland.
Chyzhevskyi’s contributions to philosophy, literature, and cultural analysis were significant, demonstrating how philosophical ideas could be applied broadly to understand human culture and intellectual trends. His work continues to influence discussions on Ukrainian identity and the role of philosophy in shaping national and cultural consciousness.
In 1997, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine established the D.I. Chyzhevskyi Prize to recognize outstanding contributions to philosophy. The laureates for the past decade are as follows:
- 2024: Volodymyr Lytvynov, Doctor of Philosophy and researcher at the H.S. Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy, was awarded for his work on compiling the Latin-Ukrainian Dictionary.
- 2020: Andrii Pohorilyi, Candidate of Philosophy and Associate Professor at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, received the prize for his monograph Dmytro Chyzhevskyi as a Historian of Philosophy.
- 2017: Anatolii Kolodnyi, Doctor of Philosophy, President of the Ukrainian Association of Religious Studies and Head of the Department of Religious Studies at the H.S. Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy, was honored for his monograph Religious Life of Ukraine Through Personalities and Researchers.
What makes these works truly remarkable, however, is not just their scholarly value, but their limited accessibility. They are not available for purchase in bookstores or downloadable from websites, and they are rarely discussed in academic circles by younger scholars (with the youngest of the prize recipients being 58 years old).
Dmytro Chyzhevskyi, the author of The Philosophy of H.S. Skovoroda (completed at the age of 40), was deeply committed to interpreting Skovoroda’s philosophy as the core of the Ukrainian intellectual tradition. There is hope that, inspired by Skovoroda’s concept of kindred labor, contemporary youth in Oleksandriia will bring this vision to life. It is hoped that new artists, scholars, and public figures from the city will contribute to shaping the modern history of Ukraine and the world.
KONTENTA will provide a platform for the first practical steps in mastering professions within the creative industries. This initiative will help us fill cyberspace with modern content, bringing to life the works and ideas that Chyzhevskyi developed during his lifetime, while also contributing to the global recognition of Ukrainian creativity.
In the late 1980s, Oleksandriia also witnessed a renaissance of Ukrainian theatre. The Theatre of the Coryphaei frequently toured the city, bringing performances by renowned figures such as Kropyvnytskyi, Zankovetska, Zatyrkevych-Karpynska, Saksahanskyi, Sadovskyi, Karpenko-Kary, and Karpenko-Luchytskyi. It was here that Hnat Yura, the founder of modern Ukrainian drama theatre, began his career, creating his first drama group at the Oleksandriia theatre.
The Law of Ukraine On the Basic Principles of State Policy in the Field of Affirming Ukrainian National and Civil Identity (2834-IX, December 13, 2022) recognizes Ukrainian national and civil identity as a key component of the country’s national security. The resilience of future generations, in the face of the challenges posed by martial law and global crises, can only be built through a deeper understanding of the historical dynamics of Ukrainian culture and its active role in shaping cultural industries in modern Ukraine.
In Oleksandriia, the Children’s Music School and the professional Culture and Arts College offer opportunities for students to develop crucial skills in the use of technical equipment and computer technology. This hands-on learning will enable them to implement their projects in practice. The studio’s technical setup—including licensed Ableton Live software—provides the essential tools for students to create podcasts, design musical landscapes, and professionally record, process, and release audio and video content. This setup will empower them to contribute to the cultural dialogue and meet the needs of the local community through creative expression.
As part of the opening events, a sound design workshop was held, where young participants created and recorded their own track in a collaborative process under the mentorship of Ivan Varchenko, a sound producer from the Luhansk region. This workshop allowed the youth to explore the sounds of everyday objects, engage in recording and sound processing, make collective decisions about the track’s sound, and record a vocal part. This hands-on experience facilitated the development of a new track in real time, showcasing the capabilities of KONTENTA studio.
On October 23, the second day of the opening, the Cultural Platform team conducted a training session on the use of studio equipment and software for youth space workers. This training will equip them with the skills needed to ensure the studio’s sustainable operation and provide ongoing support for youth in bringing their projects to life.
The newly opened studio also hosted an apartment party featuring local indie rock bands sontse dali and KVITKOVASOBAKA. The event highlighted the growing demand for such a space in the city, where young people can now develop professional skills, collaborate, and support one another through the studio’s resources.
Looking ahead, the KONTENTA audiovisual studies project has a long-term vision of creating a platform where young people from participating communities can share their content and build new social connections with other youth. In particular, KONTENTA has the potential to become the first youth radio network in Ukraine, bringing together 20 communities from different regions. This ambition is driving the team to open additional studios across the country.
By the end of 2024, with the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Ukraine, the Cultural Platform plans to open 20 KONTENTA studios in communities throughout the country.
Photo: Oleksandr Drobyshev
Anastasiya Mishustina, Yevhen Zabarylo
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