Deconstructing the role of contemporary art as entertainment and using it as a way of facing the challenges and complexities of our time is the base of the Italian cultural organization Sineglossa. Official partner of environmental and cultural projects such as the New European Bauhaus and the European Green Deal, the organization has created the project ‘A Discovery Guide for Recovery’, an initiative that looks at the present and future of Ukraine and gives a voice to the culture and resilience of the community.

To serve this purpose, Sineglossa promotes an open call for artists, from or living in Europe and working with any media, to embark on a two-week residency in Ukraine. Hosted at the Bakota Hub cultural centre in Horaivka - currently used as a shelter for displaced people - the selected participants will be challenged to get to know the location and develop a 'non-touristic' international guidebook - dedicated to those who do not travel to collect postcards but to discover the authentic spirit of a territory - involving the inhabitants in a process of recovering memories of the past, sensitising them to the issues of the present and foreseeing possible future scenarios.

Taking inspiration from publications such as the ‘Sarajevo Survival Guide’, produced by a collective of artists in 1992 during the siege of the city, and ‘Nonturismo’, a methodology for art-based community engagement in rural and fragile areas, the project aims to bring together local communities, Ukrainian art-risk and international artists and give life to a provocative artistic guidebook that helps the international community to recognise the difficulties that have affected Ukraine in recent years. The guide will be edited by a professional publisher and distributed throughout Europe in festivals and book fairs.

The open call ends on April 30th, and applications can be made using the form available here. Learn more on the Sineglossa website.

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A Discovery Guide for Recovery is a project co-funded by Creative Europe.