International Exhibition Project “PROTEST/ARCHITECTURE. BARRICADES AND TENTS: THE WORLD AND UKRAINE”

The National Museum of the Revolution of Dignity together with the German Architecture Museum in Frankfurt, with the support of the Goethe-Institut and in partnership with the Museum of Kyiv History, presents the exhibition “Protest/Architecture. Barricades and Tents: the World and Ukraine”. The exhibition is dedicated to the anniversaries of the Ukrainian Maidans – the 20th anniversary of the Orange Revolution and the 11th anniversary of the Revolution of Dignity.

At the exhibition, the project authors analyzed and compared various architectural forms of protest – the barricades of the 1848 revolution in Western Europe and the protest territory of the Maidan of 2013–2014 in Kyiv, tent cities during the Arab Spring, light laser projections of demonstrators in Hong Kong in 2019, and others. Tiny tree houses, large shelters, round huts, tents, towers, blockposts, fortress-like barricades – all of these represent architecture diverse in its functions and forms, born of protest.

“For us, it is a great honor to be invited to Kyiv with this exhibition by our partners from the Maidan Museum. Of all thirteen protest movements around the world that we studied in detail, the Revolution of Dignity had the most dramatic consequences. On the one hand, it was a clear choice of the European path to democracy; on the other, these events became the beginning of the Russian invasion, which aimed to destroy the achievements of the Maidan. There is no better place than Kyiv for this exhibition, which in many ways demonstrates that history is ultimately written not by the victors, but by brave and unconquered fighters,” emphasized Oliver Elser, curator, German Architecture Museum (Frankfurt).

The exhibition project was created in 2023 by the German Architecture Museum in Frankfurt to explore how architectural forms that emerged in places of long-term protests help protesters achieve their goals. The Ukrainian format of the exhibition will show the specifics of our largest protests, demonstrating the formation of the structure and architecture of the Ukrainian Maidans against the background of global processes.

“Our Maidans became unique events in world history, reflecting a distinctive culture of protest that emerged from the experience of a number of revolutions, primarily in Europe. Practices of long-term peaceful protest involve arranging physical space for various purposes: defensive, organizational, everyday, communication, or coordination needs. The protest space is also made unique by the cultural and historical environment. Therefore, we are grateful to our colleagues from Frankfurt for the opportunity to bring to Ukraine—after Germany, Switzerland, and Austria—this thoroughly researched phenomenon of protest architecture and to view our struggle for freedom in a global context,” said Ihor Poshyvailo, Director General of the National Museum of the Revolution of Dignity.

In the exhibition, the Maidan Museum team will show how protesters interacted with the urban space of Ukraine’s capital and what the relationship was between formats of self-organization and the structure of protests at the beginning of the 21st century. After all, the experience of the Orange Revolution of 2004 made it possible to swiftly and structurally deploy the Euromaidan protest in 2013, following spatial and organizational solutions and practical skills. In turn, the Orange Revolution relied on the successful experience of the 1990 Revolution on Granite.

“Kyiv, as the political and cultural center of Ukraine, has always been the city where transformative events in the country begin, a hub of resistance, strength, and the unification of Ukrainians around a shared idea. The Orange Revolution and the Revolution of Dignity—events that became landmark moments in Ukraine’s history and changed the consciousness of many of our fellow citizens—also began here, in the very heart of the capital. Therefore, it was entirely justified and symbolic to present the exhibition precisely at the Museum of Kyiv History,” shared Diana Popova, Director General of the Museum of Kyiv History.

Organizers: German Architecture Museum (Frankfurt), National Museum of the Revolution of Dignity, Museum of Kyiv History. The project is implemented in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut in Ukraine.