2000 eng

In 2000, the format of the symposium evolved further: new curatorial concepts, masterclasses, theatrical performances, nocturnal rituals, and performative experiments emerged. The seventh symposium was held under the title “Raku Ware Land Art” and featured an exhibition, auction, festival section, ritual practices, and collective actions.

Following the expressive presentation in 1999, information about the symposium was actively circulated in the media—primarily in the Sumy press. In the capital, interest in the event increased after the exhibition by Ganna Gidora and Valerii Shkarupa, “Symbolism of the Current”, at the Soviart Centre for Contemporary Art, which has since become a permanent partner of the symposium.

This year marked a turning point in the institutional development of the Mohrytsia Symposium. Local authorities, cultural institutions, and professional art centres all became involved in the organisational process. A delegation led by Viktor Khamatov, head of the Soviart Centre for Contemporary Art, attended the final events of “Borderland Space.” The Dmytro Bortnianskyi Sumy Higher School of Arts and Culture also joined the organisation process—in particular, Leonid Vlasenko, the director, and Tetiana Shulikova, the deputy director, head of the Ukrainian Song Theatre “Yaroslavna.” An important role in promoting the event was likewise played by Mykola Solovei, the head of the Sumy District State Administration, and by Valerii Diahovets, the village head.

In 2000, the team of the contemporary art magazine “NASH,” the national television channel “1+1,” and a delegation of around 30 artists from the ceramic centre “Opishnia” (Poltava region) also participated, enabling new connections to be forged and consolidating the symposium as a significant event on the national stage.

The revival of institutional attention was accompanied by the activation of artistic strategies that not only shaped the public image of the symposium but also documented key stages of its formation. The collective creation of a clay “berehynia” figure—female guardian—on the day of the solstice and the joint ritual firing of ceramics assumed the character of a performative gesture uniting art, ritual, and joint action.