Voices of Dignity: Defending Ukraine - Danish-Ukrainian collaborative event marks three years of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine

Among the featured speakers is Maksym Butkevych, a Ukrainian human rights activist, journalist, and pacifist turned soldier, who will share his haunting experience of two years in Russian captivity. Recently exchanged as a POW, Butkevych will testify to the inhumane conditions, routine beatings, and torture that he and his fellow inmates endured. It will be followed by the powerful intersection of art and resistance through poetry readings by Yaryna Chornohuz, a prominent Ukrainian poet, translator, and servicewoman of the Marine Corps of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and Artur Dron, one of the youngest Shevchenko Prize candidates, who joins online while recovering from combat wounds. Their poetry, born from lived experiences on the brutal frontline, will be read in Danish by Danish soldiers and officials.

Along with our guests, Ukraine House will present a hauntingly moving musical piece "Song of the Unborn," performed on a repurposed Russian URAGAN MLRS missile by acclaimed Ukrainian composer Roman Grygoriv and the National Soloists Ensemble Kyiv Camerata. This innovative performance symbolizes the transformation of instruments of destruction into vehicles of artistic expression.

The commemoration includes two powerful exhibitions: a poetic poster exhibition honouring Ukrainian poets of different generations, with emphasis on those exterminated by the Soviet Russian system, and "The House of Light: Tribute to Polina Raiko" - a multimedia installation debuting at the Copenhagen Light Festival, recreating the lost treasures of naive art destroyed when Russian forces demolished the Nova Kakhovka dam in 2023.

 “In the world where even the strongest alliances are endangered, many societies are led by demagogues who opt to isolate themselves from global challenges and injustices for narrow interest, the risk to appease the evil and prolong the Russian imperial war against Ukraine in the 21st century remains high. At this moment, we are once again staying committed to elevating the voices of the oppressed, the wounded, and the struggling Ukrainian human rights activists, authors and artists at a time when Ukrainian culture continues to be existentially threatened. Our event is the demonstration of solidarity among the Danish and Ukrainian societies where every voice matters and every life is precious, where love and friendship are stronger than fear and are laying the path for sustainable security and peace in Europe,” highlighted Nataliia Popovych, chairperson of Ukraine House in Denmark.

“More than 1,000 days of full-scale war. The destruction and human suffering are beyond comprehension. Yet, no matter how difficult it is to grasp, we must try— we owe it to our friends in Ukraine. Understanding is the first step toward solidarity. And here, art and culture play a crucial role. Poetry, literature, and music give a voice to the unspeakable, make the invisible visible and the unimaginable real. They help us confront the darkness—not to be consumed by it, but to reaffirm our shared humanity. Through cultural exchange, we find resilience, dignity, and the unbreakable bonds of solidarity. At Danish Cultural Institute, we are proud to be a part of this important initiative once again. The fight for peace, freedom, and democracy must never be taken for granted”, says Camilla Mordhorst, CEO of Danish Cultural Institute

This event comes at a critical time when over 140 Ukrainian artists, film directors, playwrights, poets, and actors have been killed in action or as civilians since February 2022. More than 1,500 Ukrainian cultural monuments and public infrastructure objects have been destroyed or damaged by war. In temporarily occupied territories, Ukrainian books are systematically removed and destroyed by Russian occupying forces, making culture an undeniably powerful, though often underestimated dimension of this war.

Event Details: 

Date: February 24, 2025
Time: 17:30-19:30
Location: Ukraine House in Denmark, Strandgade 27B, 1401 Copenhagen

Program:

17:30 - Doors open

18:00 - Official program begins

19:30 - Networking and exhibition viewing

The evening will conclude with wine and informal conversations with the writers and curators whose work is presented in the exhibitions.

For media inquiries: info@ukrainehouse.dk

About Danish Cultural Institute:

Since 1940, Danish Cultural Institute (DCI) has been actively engaged in international projects focused on art, culture, and societal development. Through art and culture, DCI aims to foster intercultural dialogue, build trust and understanding, and demonstrate how the exchange of art, culture, and knowledge can help address global challenges. DCI operates in 18 countries, including the Eastern Neighbourhood Countries, the Baltic states (and around the Baltic Sea Region), Türkiye, India, China, and Brazil.

About Ukraine House in Denmark:

Since our inception in Denmark, we have become the home of Ukrainian culture in Denmark. The Ukraine House in Denmark is a Ukrainian cultural institution with a mission to deepen Ukrainian-Danish cooperation in the field of culture and creative industries for sustainable peace in Europe based on common values. The Ukraine House is the only public cultural diplomacy institution representing Ukraine in Western Europe that is open 6 days a week serving the interests of both the Danish society and the Ukrainian community through creative collaborations within music, theatre, photography, art, academic research, and a wide variety of diverse programs supporting the struggle to preserve and communicate our language, history and culture.

In February 2023, the Danish Ministry of Culture allocated the former premises of the Danish Architectural Center at Gammel Dok in the center of Copenhagen to implement the strategy and activities of the Ukrainian House team. Since then, an international volunteer team of 20 people in Copenhagen has worked hundreds of volunteer shifts and hosted more than 9,000 guests, held 7 exhibitions of Ukrainian modern art and wartime architecture, organized more than 100 dialogues, panel discussions, lectures and presentations involving 120+ Ukrainian and Danish parliamentarians, journalists, artists, architects and other opinion leaders, integrated Ukrainian content into 10 leading leading Danish cultural platforms, such as the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, Copenhagen Architecture Festival, Night of Culture, Copenhagen Photography Festival, and 3DaysofDesign. Ukraine House has organized concerts of the most prominent Ukrainian musicians in Denmark, including the Dudaryk National Choir’s performance in the Copenhagen City Council for the 800 guests etc. Since July 2023, the Ukraine House has become an associate member of the Association of Cultural Institutes of EU countries in Denmark. The Embassy of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Institute are our primary partners.

We consistently elevate the voices of Ukrainian artists and authors in the Danish context and for the media, stimulating publications, such as the article on the legacy of the Ukrainian poet Viktoria Amelina, killed during the war, or the publication of an essay by Iryna Tsylyk, interviews with Oleksandr Mykhed and Iryna Shuvalova. In the autumn of 2023, the Ukraine House launched a major educational campaign for Danish society and opinion leaders regarding the need for Denmark to recognize the Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian people. Ukrainian film screenings and literary readings are held every week in the Ukraine House, which allow Danish and Ukrainian audiences to get to know Ukrainian culture.