THE KHANENKO MUSEUM: RETHINKING ITS INSTITUTIONAL ROLE

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE MUSEUM'S DIRECTOR, YULIYA VAGANOVA

Abstract

Among the cultural institutions of Kyiv and all of Ukraine, the Khanenko Museum holds a special place. This museum has managed not only to preserve its collection and restore the building damaged during one of the 2022 shellings, but also to rethink its function, its mode of interaction with the audience, and the themes of its work. The museum's achievements during the full-scale Russian invasion have been recognized with international awards. Its dynamic image, commitment to its audience, and influence on the professional community give reason to assert that the Khanenko Museum is one of the most important and influential cultural institutions in Ukraine in recent years. We discussed the understanding of this role with the museum's director and art historian Yuliya Vaganova. Her professional record includes leadership positions at the Center for Contemporary Art at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, the National Art Museum of Ukraine, the Dovzhenko Center, and Mystetskyi Arsenal. This experience enables her to have a comprehensive perspective on cultural processes over the past decades and on the institutional development.