A Cross-Sectoral Artistic Research Residency, “Residents of the Universe 2026,” Held at Karazin University’s YermilovCentre Contemporary Art Center

In September, the cross-sectoral artistic research residency “Residents of the Universe 2026” took place at the initiative of the YermilovCentre Contemporary Art Center, in collaboration with departments of Karazin University.

Over the course of a month, six artists — Oleksandr Dolhyi, Liliia Petrova, Tetiana Pukhnіavtseva, Karina Synytsia, Maryna Shchehelska and Vladyslav Yudin — explored what usually remains beyond the scope of conventional artistic inquiry: museum collections, archives, rare publications, scientific collections and natural history specimens.

Under the curatorship of Olena Kasperovych, the participants worked with collections held by the Central Scientific Library, the Botanical Garden, and the University’s Museums of Nature, Archaeology, Astronomy and History. They explored archival materials, made observations, spoke with researchers, and sought their own ways of interpreting these collections in a contemporary context.

The project brought together two ways of understanding the world: artistic and scientific. Collections are often perceived as something complete and unchanging: objects have already been described, classified and preserved. Yet artistic research can shift this perspective. It raises new questions, uncovers unexpected connections and makes it possible to see familiar objects as material for contemporary artistic expression. The residency thus became a space not only for working with collections but also for dialogue.

The artists had an opportunity to deepen their artistic practices, while researchers were able to view familiar collections from a different perspective. New connections between the artistic and scientific communities also laid the groundwork for future interdisciplinary projects.

This is not the first time such an event has taken place at Karazin University. In 2019, artists from Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Spain, Lithuania, Germany and Poland explored the University’s museum collections and holdings.

This year’s project once again demonstrates that a collection is more than a record of the past. It is a source of new questions, fresh interpretations and new ways of engaging with the world.

The “Residents of the Universe 2026” project was implemented with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation under its “Culture. Regions” grant programme.