On the eve of St. Nicholas Day, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv organized a warm and crowded holiday – the Evening of Art and Science – in order to illustrate the synergy of these two forms of knowledge of the world. State and public figures, representatives of the diplomatic corps, scientists, creative intelligentsia, and journalists visited the holiday.
The organizers of the event, as masters of time, managed to transport the guests to the past 105 years, when “Schedryk” was performed for the first time in the Red Building of the University, and also to open up the future with the help of the exhibition #NaukaProsto – a unique art project, which is designed to introduce the outstanding scientific developments of university researchers, which correspond to the vision of tomorrow.
The evening began with the performance of the most famous Ukrainian song in the world – “Schedryka”, which was sung together by the “Dnipro” folk choir under the leadership of artistic director Iryna Dusheyko and representatives of the diplomatic corps in Ukraine: Mrs. Dragitsa Ponorac, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Montenegro to Ukraine; head of the International Women’s Club, wife of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of South Africa to Ukraine, Kristina Grunewald; wife of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Poland to Ukraine Monika Kapa-Cihotska; President of the Club of Wives of Ambassadors in Ukraine, wife of the General Secretary of GUAM Shafag Oruzhova; Head of the Office of the Council of Europe in Ukraine Sten Nyorlov; Dirk Follet, representative of the foreign diplomatic corps in Ukraine. They studied the song as part of the course “Ukrainian Language for Diplomats”, developed by the Preparatory Department and the Institute of Philology of KNU. The people’s collective with diplomats jointly confirmed: “Schedryk” is a world heritage! After the brilliant singing, the applause did not subside for a long time.
“You shouldn’t regret the applause, it was a great pleasure to listen to “Shchedryk” in such a performance,” emphasized rector Volodymyr Bugrov. He thanked the guests and friends of the University for their complicity, courage and love for Ukraine, and Iryna Dusheyko, head of the chapel, for her efforts and harmonious singing.
She thanked the Ambassador of Montenegro to Ukraine for the opportunity to participate in the event. “Our countries are far away, but we are very close. When you come to a country, first of all you learn its language. We love Ukraine and its language!”, said Mrs. Dragitsa Ponorac.
The vice-rector for international cooperation Ksenia Smirnova also thanked the representatives of the foreign diplomatic corps in Ukraine for their participation in the rehearsals and celebrations, inviting them to Shevchenko University for future celebrations.
Next, the musical and artistic part of the event was replaced by the presentation of visual works, which are organically woven into the scientific discourse, because they reflect the most important research and developments of the University’s scientists. The innovative art project #NaukaProsto was presented at the holiday. The exhibits of the exhibition are designed in the style of science and art. The project was implemented on the initiative of the vice-rector for scientific work, Hanna Tolstanova, together with the Scientific Research Department and the Institute of Journalism of KNU, art director – Oleksiy Sytnyk. The scientific achievements of KNU scientists are already changing the world today, influencing people’s lives and improving its quality. As Danylo Filonenko, the moderator of the evening, noted: “It is very difficult to explain something to a wide audience without sensationalism. So we tried to implement a project that could interest everyone.”
The second part of the evening was a panel discussion about science in Ukraine and at Kyiv University in particular. Urgent issues of development and popularization of science were discussed.
Oleksiy Sytnyk, art director of the #NaukaProsto project, answering the question of whether the synergy of science and art is possible, noted: “Art is a very interesting thing that makes complex things accessible on a multicultural, multinational, multilingual level. Science can be a little confusing when we dive deep into technology. But the state and society should be proud of scientific achievements. We have to make science fashionable! It is through our project that we are trying to reach our most promising audience – young people who will continue the development of science in Ukraine and the world.”
Ihor Komarov, director of the Institute of High Technologies of KNU, a world-renowned chemist, one of the 100 most influential Ukrainians according to the weekly magazine “FOCUS”, is sure that it is important to talk about science to people without specialized knowledge, the main thing is how to do it. “Art is a universally understandable language, because it is accessible to everyone. Let’s not forget that the Nobel Prize is awarded not only to physicists and chemists, but also for art! For example, in 1965, Robert Woodward was awarded the Nobel Prize for his outstanding contribution to the art of organic synthesis. Precisely for the fact that he was able to skillfully convey complex scientific things,” emphasized Igor Komarov.
Answering the question why people believe superstitions more easily than scientific facts, psychologist Ilya Yagiyaev emphasized: “People still trust science, otherwise you and I would not be sitting here, we would not be using the devices we have. But today’s civilization needs to overcome decision-making mechanisms that were effective once, but are no longer working. People need to feel trust in scientific institutions. It is necessary for people to feel the value of science, to have access to what interests them, to be in the field of science popularization.”
“The popularization of science should fulfill the role of broadcasting information from the scientific language to the language of society, the language of the media. The importance of popularizing science through art is to show people who, for one reason or another, consider science something distant, that it is interesting and close. Science is in everything that surrounds us. To be a scientist is to be on the cutting edge of everything that is best in the world. There should be many popularization projects, so I congratulate the popular science initiative #NaukaProsto!”, said Olga Maslova, a biologist, popularizer of science, blogger, host of the program on Public Radio “Science as Butter”.
Rector Volodymyr Bugrov thanked all the ideological inspirers and authors of the visual implementation of the #NaukaProsto art project. He also told what the University is doing for the development of science in Ukraine and the world. Volodymyr Anatoliyovych emphasized: “This beautiful evening will also contribute to the progress of science, which will inspire new achievements of people close in spirit and goals. The university community invites everyone who is interested in the joint implementation of creative and scientific ideas.”
