Kyiv - The Ukrainian Weekly

No. 3Yara Arts Group and UIA to present“Poetry: Installations and Performances”NEW YORK – The Yara Arts Groupand the Ukrainian Institute of Americawill present “Poetry: Installations andPerformances” on January 29-31. Theweekend festival of poetry will includethree major events: an art exhibit, performancesof poetry by Yara actors andpoetry readings by poets. All the eventswill take place at the Ukrainian Instituteof America, 2 E. 79th St. at Fifth Avenue.Yara has invited 15 visual artists tocreate installations inspired by Ukrainianpoems throughout the rooms of the institute’snewly restored mansion.Participants artists include JudithCampbell, Yarko Cigash, Anya Farion,Petro Hrytsyk, Luba Kierkosz, AlexKytasty, Larisa Lawrynenko, OlgaMaryschuk (curator of the event),Margaret Morton, Ana Rewakowicz, JoelSchlemowitz, Anna Sidorenko, IlyonaSochynsky, Watoku Ueno, SergeiYakunin and Hilary Zarycky.Most of the artists have chosen towork with poems by contemporaryUkrainian poets, such as Oleh Lysheha,Vasyl Makhno, Attila Mohylny andOksana Zabuzhko. Some have chosenpoems from the 1920s by Pavlo Tychyna,and others will elaborate on ancientUkrainian incantations. The art exhibitwill open on Friday, January 29, at 8 p.m.and the works will remain on exhibitthroughout the weekend.A special gala at 8 p.m. on Saturday,January 30, will feature Yara actors performingportions of their new work, “InVerse.” Yara’s theatrical process isunique. In rehearsals, members bringtogether poems written by Ukrainianauthors and translations of these poemsTHE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 1999 11by Virlana Tkacz and Wanda Phipps.The translations are created specificallyfor the project during rehearsals withactors to attain a sensitive and dynamiccommingling of the original and translatedtexts. The artists plait an originalpoem with its translation so that the narrativecan be understood by everyone andthe melody of the original is maintained.It is a process best described as two languagesspeaking to each other. BobHolman, producer of the PBS series“World of Poetry,” recently saw Yara performand was fascinated by what heinsisted is a new genre of performance,created by Yara.“In Verse” weaves together Ukrainianpoetry from ancient folk incantations tothe newest, most exciting writers workingtoday. Yara actors Cecilia Arana, TomLee, Xenia Piaseckyj and Shona Tuckerwill perform the unsurpassed lyricalpoetry of Pavlo Tychyna, delicate poetryin-prosepieces by Vasyl Stefanyk,romantic and futuristic poetry from the1920s and the 1960s, as well as works ofwriters of the 1990s.“In Verse” is structured on the musicalcollaboration of Obie award-winningcomposer Genji Ito and Julian Kytasty,premier artist of both traditional andexperimental bandura. Also included ismusic by composer Roman Hurko.At 3 p.m. on Sunday, January 31,poets, among them Maria Rewakowiczand Kristina Lucenko. will read theirown poetry.Yara’s artistic director, Virlana Tkacz,has said she believes “the magnificence(Continued on page 12)To subscribe: Send $50 ($40 if you are a member of the UNA) to The Ukrainian Weekly,Subscription Department, 2200 Route 10, P.O. Box 280, Parsippany, NJ 07054