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Feb. 13, 2026, 8:14 p.m.
Passion for Lesya: How the epic with the Ukrainian monument will end
Цей матеріал також доступний українською0
The jury has officially determined the winner of the competition for the monument to Larysa Petrivna Kosach, known in Ukrainian literature as Lesya Ukrainka in Odesa, but the jury's choice has already been criticized.
Accent figured out what was going on.
The first prize was awarded to the project by the famous sculptor Mykola Bilyk and architects Andriy Kostruba, Maria Matushenko, and Oleksandr Vovk. Mykola Bilyk is an artist from Ukraine, originally from Bukovyna.
See also: A monument to Lesya Ukrainka is ready in Odesa
In August 2025, at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Odesa City Council, a decision was made to hold a competition for the best design proposal for the monument to Lesia Ukrainka with the improvement of the surrounding area. The competition was held in one round until January 30, 2026. Professional architects, sculptors or designers, students of architectural and construction higher education institutions, design organizations, teams of authors, specialists in urban planning and architecture were invited to participate. Specialists from other fields with experience in creating monumental artworks could join the teams of authors.
Larysa Petrivna Kosach (Lesia Ukrainka) was born on February 25, 1871, in the town of Novohrad-Volynskyi (1795-2022), now Zvyagel, Zhytomyr region. Since childhood, her family called her Lesia. The poetess visited Odesa at least 18 times. She was treated here, stayed with the family of her friends the Komarovs, and wrote a cycle of poems "Journey to the Sea" and the story "Over the Sea." Her play "Blue Rose" was staged on the Odesa stage in 1903. In Odesa, there is a street named after Lesia Ukrainka in the Peresypskyi district, and in 2024, according to the order of the head of the Odesa Regional State Administration, Gagarin Avenue was renamed in her honor.
The project of the monument to Lesya Ukrainka has caused controversy among the public and experts. Critics pointed to possible plagiarism and the sculpture's dubious artistic value, while some citizens were outraged by the lack of transparency in the competition.
