Among the numerous Ukrainian cities attacked and destroyed by Russian aggression, Mariupol probably suffered the worst. After heavy bombardment on the first days of the war, months of siege, and a heroic defensive battle, the city fell under Russian control. Today, up to 90% of once great port city has been destroyed, and many of its former residents live in the diaspora – Mariupol is cut off from the rest world. Mariupol became a symbol of fierce resistance to aggressors, and the slogan “Mariupol is Ukraine” became known worldwide.
In 2019, the old Palace of Culture in Mariupol was reorganized into the first Center of Contemporary Art Hotel Continental. This place hosted various contemporary projects, festivals, and international art residencies. The Continental Hotel became home to many different artistic groups and two alternative young theater collectives. However, in the spring of 2022, the Center for Contemporary Art was destroyed entirely.
After that, the international partners of Hotel Continental, who actively cooperated with it before the full-scale invasion, suggested transferring this space to Berlin. Now Hotel Continental is a project of the Ogalala Kreuzberg formation headed by Christine Dissmann, an independent theater group in Berlin, which, together with representatives from Ukraine and in particular, Mariupol, hosts artists, and cultural workers in Berlin who had to leave Ukraine due to the hostilities. The Hotel Continental in Berlin now offers a platform and social space for collaboration and meetings.
After several months of cooperation, an art festival about Mariupol was held at the beginning of December involving participants from Mariupol or Ukrainians. Within the framework of the festival, it was possible to unite the participants of the two collectives from Mariupol Teatromania and Puppet Theater in Berlin, who lost not only their homes but also their artistic families and beloved theater. The young artists, who currently live in Poland, the Czech Republic, Finland, Austria, Germany, and Ukraine, had the opportunity to meet in Berlin, rehearse, and show the last plays they did together before the full-scale invasion.
The exhibition projects by Ukrainian artists – Scroll of Ukrainian Will by Maksym Demskyi, Artefacts of Zero by Odesa-based artist Yevhenii Bal and others –were presented during the event.
The reconstruction of the Mariupol project values in Berlin and the unification of Ukrainians and Europeans around it is a driving force for the start of joint reconstruction.
