STUSSING in Odesa: how the city celebrated the birthday of the rebel poet

A performance dedicated to the birthday of Vasyl Stus took place in Odesa. Music, poetry, stand-up and live performances combined the contemporary scene and the poet's legacy in an interactive format.

This was reported by Intent 's photojournalist Natalia Dovbysh.

On January 6, a hybrid music and poetry performance dedicated to Vasyl Stus's birthday, titled "STUSing in Odesa," took place in Odesa. Intent was the media partner of the event.

The purpose of the event was to remind about the artist, introduce him to a new generation and draw attention to the Ukrainian rebel poet who always defended internal and national independence.

PHOTO: Natalia Dovbysh/Intent

In the public space of Ukraine , Vasyl Stus often appears as a tragic, "bronze" figure from a textbook. The performance "Let's Remember Stus" offered a different format: not to remember him, but to make him a part of the present.

The main founder of the festival, military officer and musician Ihor Dyvylalo, holds organizational meetings from his dugout, a symbol of the fact that culture overcomes any obstacles. He is also the frontman of the band MI-4 and curator of the She.Fest music scene.

PHOTO: Natalia Dovbysh/Intent

This year, Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, Dnipro, Rivne, Khmelnytskyi, Kamianets, and a number of other cities joined the event.

In Odesa, the celebration took place at the More Music Club. An eclectic musical and poetic performance took place there, showing the poet not only as a sixties poet, but also as a contemporary rebel artist.

The evening was opened with electronic tracks, to which an 11-year-old boy recited the poet's poem. The program also included musical stand-up from Kyiv's independent theater "Between Three Columns" and mini-sets by Odesa bands in various genres, from electronica to industrial metal. Some of the songs were based on Stus's poems, while others were free musical interpretations of his texts.

PHOTO: Natalia Dovbysh/Intent

Between the blocks, short facts from the poet's life were presented - dates, events, and details that are rarely included in official biographies.

The finale was a joint rhyme "Good evening to you, master." On January 6, the day of Epiphany, caroling took on a special meaning: in Soviet times, it was punishable and arrested, and Vasyl Stus was among those persecuted. On this day, carols were performed simultaneously in many cities of Ukraine, creating a single all-Ukrainian melody. The event was attended by 220 people.

PHOTO: Natalia Dovbysh/Intent

The event was also organized by Kateryna Tkachenko, a PhD and lecturer at Ushynskyi University, who is a philologist and the main ideologist of the Odesa-based project STUSiYuemo. The event was co-organized and sound-produced by Robert Franko, who also designed the festival. Oksana Shubinok provided media management and communications, and Yaroslav Chepkalenko combined the role of co-organizer with his duties as acting head of the marketing and development strategy department at Ushynsky University and head of the NGO Unbreakable Youth.

PHOTO: Natalia Dovbysh/Intent

In addition, the city hosted a presentation of a large cultural and educational project ODESA ID, which aims to rethink and strengthen the city's Ukrainian identity. The main goal of the initiative is to create its own vision of Odesa as an integral part of Ukraine.

Анна Бальчінос