Discussions, plagiarism, and 300 thousand for the contest: how the discussion of the monument to Lesya Ukrainka ended

A discussion was held in Odesa around the monument to Lesya Ukrainka, whose competition for the monument has already cost over 300,000 hryvnias and caused controversy over plagiarism. Participants discussed how to make the space around the monument open, modern, and interesting for the community.

This was reported by Int'l correspondent Natalia Dovbysh.

The event was held in preparation for the 155th anniversary of the poetess and playwright's birth and brought together authors of competitive projects, cultural activists, and the interested public.

The event began with poetry readings dedicated to Lesia Ukrainka's work, after which the organizers connected the authors to the discussion via Zoom, including the winner of the competition, Mykola Bilyk. More people were expected to attend the meeting, but the number of attendees was limited, and some of those invited, including Natalia Delieva and Olena Balaba, were unable to join.

At the last meeting, Natalia Delieva, a civic activist, noted that she had asked the Department of Architecture about the competition. She was assured that all the entries would be made public before the winner was chosen. However, this did not happen. And Odesa journalist Olena Balaba drew attention to possible plagiarism: according to her, the new monument repeats the pose from the work of Soviet sculptor Galina Kalchenko, with only the details of the scarf changed.

Each of the authors was asked questions that were collected by Olha Kvasnytska, a member of the city council and organizer of the event, from public comments. Participants had the opportunity to address the authors with questions. Sculptor Mykola Bilyk noted that the allegations of plagiarism were unfounded and that his project could be improved.

During the presentations, Kvasnytska showed numerous photographs of Lesia Ukrainka monuments from different years and designs, some of which were similar to each other. She emphasized that a plagiarism examination can be ordered, but its cost is about 200 thousand hryvnias, while 300 thousand have already been spent on the competition.

The organizers discussed that despite the controversy, the results of the competition are in, there are laws and rules by which it was held, and now they need to focus on finalizing the sculpture project and landscaping the space around it. Bilyk supported this idea, noting that he was ready to make adjustments to make the monument more open and understandable to Odesa residents.

Serhiy Savchenko, the moderator of the meeting, suggested reducing the pedestal on which the sculpture will be installed to make it closer to the audience. The organizers plan to involve architects and urbanists to create an interactive and interesting public space. According to Kvasnytska, the participants of the meeting showed interest in working on the space, and if they join forces, the space around the monument could become attractive.

In addition, they discussed property issues: some of the real estate related to the competition and the improvement may require a separate audit and clarification of property rights. The organizers emphasized the importance of transparency in the work and public involvement.

As a result, the moderators of the event called on all those present to focus on the further development of the monument project and the surrounding area, emphasizing that culture, historical memory, and modern urban space should be shaped by the joint efforts of the community, artists, and experts.

The moderators of the meeting, Olga Kvasnytska and Serhiy Savchenko, emphasized that the key task is to create a space that will unite the city, cultural initiatives, and the public around Lesia Ukrainka's legacy.

In early February, the winning design of the monument to Lesia Ukrainka was presented in Odesa, which caused controversy among the public and experts. Critics pointed to possible plagiarism and questionable artistic value of the sculpture, while some citizens were outraged by the lack of transparency in the competition.

Анна Бальчінос