For Immediate Release
March 6, 2025
CLARK ART INSTITUTE RESEARCH AND ACADEMIC PROGRAM PRESENTS LECTURE BY SVITLANA TYMKIV
ON MUSEUM EDUCATION AND UKRANIAN NATIONAL IDENTITY
Williamstown, Massachusetts—On Tuesday, April 8, the Clark Art Institute’s Research and Academic Program presents a talk by Svitlana Tymkiv (City Museum of Lviv, Ukraine / Futures Fellow) titled “Museum Education as a Factor in the Formation of National Identity.” This free event takes place at 5:30 pm in the Manton Research Center auditorium.
Tymkiv examines how issues of national identity in Ukraine have become particularly relevant in the country since the outbreak of the full-scale war. In 2010, studies showed that in eastern Ukraine, the vast majority of the population self-identified as carriers of combined identities—identities influenced by past state formations, and associated with local history, gender, and occupation. By February 2022, the threat of the destruction of Ukrainian culture prompted an almost immediate switch, resulting in the population’s self-identification as first and foremost one of Ukrainian nationality. If before the war someone defined themselves by their place of residence (eg., a Kyivan or a Lvivian), now everyone primarily calls themselves a Ukrainian. Museum programs play an important role in this process: they provide both an opportunity to study and learn about culture and art from real artifacts and sources, as well as a forum in which these objects are accessible to various ages and social groups. This lecture analyzes examples of educational programs in museums over the past three years that contributed most meaningfully to the formation of a Ukrainian national identity.
Tymkiv is a museologist, cultural manager, and researcher of museum education. She works at the City Museum in Lviv, Ukraine. Her professional experience combines theoretical studies of museum educational activities and practical participation or organization of such events. An important aspect of her work is the introduction of participatory practices, shifting the focus from the museum object to the visitor, the development of such topics as urbanism, urban mobility, and histories of everyday life. Her project at the Clark involves researching museum education pedagogy and methods in the United States and analyzing best practices for implementing similar approaches or programs in Ukraine.
Free. Accessible seats available; for information, call 413 458 0524. A 5 pm reception in the Manton Research Center reading room precedes the event. For more information, visit clarkart.edu/events.
The next Research and Academic Program lecture, “Queer Making: Artists and Desire in Medieval Europe,” is presented by Karl Whittington (The Ohio State University), and investigates what role desire plays in the making of art objects. That event takes place on Tuesday, April 11 at 5:30 pm in the Manton Research Center auditorium.
ABOUT THE CLARK
The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, consisting of nearly 300,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.
The Clark, which has a three-star rating in the Michelin Green Guide, is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Its 140-acre campus includes miles of hiking and walking trails through woodlands and meadows, providing an exceptional experience of art in nature. Galleries are open 10 am to 5 pm, Tuesday through Sunday from September through June and daily in July and August. Admission is free to all from January through March and is $20 from March through December; admission is free year-round for Clark members, all visitors age 21 and under, and students with a valid student ID. Free admission is also available through several programs, including First Sundays Free; a local library pass program; and EBT Card to Culture. For information on these programs and more, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.
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