NAAU: importance for Ukraine

Today the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine is one of the top artistic and scientific institutions in Ukraine.

The Academy's activities reflect the glorious traditions of the Ukrainian people in art, art science and education, the implementation of the highest cultural needs and aspirations of the public.

1996 was a new step in scientific and artistic Ukrainian history. Creation of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine by the Decree of the President of Ukraine as of 14.12.1996, under No.1209, was a remarkable event in the artistic and scientific life of the country.
Today, the number of Academy members constitutes 104 (47 full members (academicians) and 57 corresponding members). The Academy has also 38 foreign members and 27 honorary academicians.
Members of Academy are working in six sections: Fine Arts, Music, Theatre, Cinematography, History and Theory of Arts, Synthesis of Plastic Arts.

The main activities of NAAU are:● conducting fundamental and applied scientific and theoretical research on creative artwork, history and theory of Ukrainian art, art criticism, art education and aesthetic education;● conducting exhibitions and other presentation events;● studying and generalizing the scientific and creative experience of national and world culture personalities, promotion of scientific knowledge and creative achievements of the national art at the global level.

The principal duties of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine are:● determination of priority directions of scientific research;● conducting fundamental scientific and theoretical research;● holding exhibitions and other events, and presentations;● study and integration of the scientific and creative experience of national and world artistic culture figures;● promoting cooperation with the relevant public authorities on the copyright protection issues

There are two research institutes under the jurisdiction of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine: the Modern Art Research Institute (MARI, founded in 2001) and the Institute for Cultural Studies (ICS, founded in 2007).

President of the Academy is Victor Sydorenko, Ukrainian artist, art researcher, curator, teacher, and author of objects and photo compositions, scientific articles and opinion pieces. Since 1997 he had been a Vice-president of the Ukrainian Academy of Arts, and in 2022 he was elected the new President of the Academy.

Earlier, in 2001 Sydorenko established and became the Head of the Modern Art Research Institute of the Ukrainian Academy of Arts. He participated at the 50th and 52nd Venice Biennale: in 2003 he presented the project “Millstones of Time”; in 2007 - "The Poem about an Internal Sea».

The war in Ukraine put all cultural institutions on the brink of survival. The main challenge facing Academy now is to support and provide the continuity of scientific and artistic practices not only of its members but of young artists and researchers as well.