Central State Archives-Museum of Literature and Art of Ukraine

Webinar 7/7: Central State Archives-Museum of Literature and Art of Ukraine

Founded in 1966, the Central State Archives Museum of Literature and Art of Ukraine (TsDAMLM of Ukraine) is a leading archival and museum institution. It preserves the personal fonds of prominent figures in Ukrainian literature, fine art, music, and theatre; the documentary heritage of cultural institutions of national significance; museum objects that belonged to writers and artists; and printed editions. Its 1,450 fonds currently comprise 325,625 items, 13,406 museum objects, and some 203,000 printed editions.

The principal challenges of Ukraine’s War of Independence have been the threat to the preservation of the holdings and to the safety of staff. Despite these conditions, the Archives Museum continues to operate — safeguarding its documents and handling public enquiries both in the reading room and online. Scanning documents and publishing them through the institution’s online resource, the Integrated Information System of TsDAMLM of Ukraine, forms an important part of this work. Its principal digital partners are FamilySearch International (USA) and Digital Transitions (USA).

The institution is assembling, with particular reverence and a sense of responsibility, a collection documenting Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine — a chronicle of the Ukrainian people’s struggle and resilience. Documents from its holdings relating to the tragedy of Babyn Yar and to the Chornobyl nuclear disaster have been inscribed in the International Register of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme.

Ukraine is today undergoing a significant cultural resurgence, in which art, history, and publishing serve as instruments of resistance, of preserving identity, and of international dialogue. The Archives Museum takes an active part in these processes: it develops exhibition projects, lends documents for display, conducts educational work, and documents the contemporary creative movement, preserving the testimony of the age for future generations.

The lecture will be of interest to literary scholars, art and theatre historians, archivists, curators, students, and all those interested in Ukrainian culture and its documentary heritage.