Art and Creation in War Time: a dialogue with leading artist Masha Reva

Together with Ivan Grabko, Masha Reva forms the most respected and engaged artistic duo in Ukraine. Since the launch of the war by Russia, they have expanded their respective multidisciplinary practices, while leveraging art as a source of resistance, establishing a platform (IamUare) for Ukrainian creators to engage with international audiences. From Berlin and New York to the Cannes festival, their work has been showcased in various venues. Masha Reva will share with students her own experience of creation in war time, and her faith in art as an instrument of Ukrainian resilience. 

Following her lecture, questions and answers with the audience will be moderated by Maxime Forest, Researcher at Sciences Po-OFCE and Lecturer at PSIA.

Born to an art-oriented couple, Masha Reva graduated from Kyiv National University of Technology and Design and from Central Saint Martins School in London. Upon her return to Ukraine, she developed a multidisciplinary practice that stretches from textile design through art direction, to drawing and painting. Tainted with the aesthetics of the 20th century avant-gardes, such as constructivism, her work unfolded along numerous collaborations with leading institutions (Rijksmuseum - NL, Royal Opera House - UK, Albertinum - DE ) and international creators such as Simon Porte Jacquemus or the musician Harry Styles. Regularly featured in international press, Masha Reva also collaborates with local brands, unravelling the richness of forms and textures of multi-faceted ukrainian crafts, and rendering homage to her beloved home city Odesa and its region. During their temporary relocation to Uzhgorod, in the most Western part of the country, Masha Reva and Ivan Grabko produced over 140 artworks in 40 days, which were shown as part of an auction exhibition on April 28th - May 1st 2022 in Berlin. This experience was documented in the short film Under the Open Sky by award-winning director Pavel Buryak, shot in 16mm and shown at Cannes Festival 2023, which will be screened during the lecture. Although directly confronting traumatic visions, Masha Reva's luminous work nonetheless exudes an unaltered sense for life. Masha Reva is currently in residency in France hosted by Kolektiv Cité Radieuse at Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation in Marseille.

The lecture is co-organised by the Sciences Po Institute for the Arts and Creation and the Paris School of International Affairs.