For the first time, Ukraine will be represented at the international contemporary art biennial in Guatemala with a project by artist Alevtina Kakhidze, which narrates her experiences related to the Russia-Ukraine war. This was reported by the Ministry of Culture.
The exhibition will run from November 6, 2025, to February 15, 2026, in Guatemala City and Antigua, featuring the 24th Bienal de Arte Paiz — one of the key art events in Latin America, established in 1978. This year’s theme is “The World Tree,” with participants including artists from Central America, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Oceania. The curator for this year’s biennial is Eugenio Viola.
Aleltina Kakhidze will present her project “I Am Still Drawing This War.” The project includes drawings, diaries, and a 360° film documenting her personal experiences of the war. The narrative begins in 2014 with conversations with her mother, who stayed in their hometown of Zhdanivka, and covers the first days of the large-scale invasion and the liberation of Kyiv region.
In her works, the artist discusses how her mother endured the war in a basement and her own experiences when Russian troops were only a few kilometers from her home, addressing the issue of Russian imperialism.
Among other biennial participants addressing themes of war and colonization in their work are:
- Taiwanese artist Zhang Hsu Chang, nominated for the Future Generation Art Prize 2024;
- Algerian-French artist Kader Attia, who created installations at the “Isolation” Foundation in Donetsk in 2012.
Aleltina Kakhidze's participation in the Bienal de Arte Paiz is made possible by the support of the Ukrainian Institute.
About Alevtina Kakhidze: she is a Ukrainian artist, performer, curator, and designer born in 1973 in Zhdanivka. She graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts in Kyiv and the Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht. Her work deeply explores various systems — from social to natural — through the lens of art and performance.
Since 2018, she has been a UN goodwill ambassador for tolerance in Ukraine and has received the Malevich Prize for her significant contributions to art exhibition projects on international platforms.
Since 2009, the artist has been living in the village of Muzychy, Ukraine, where she continues to work on projects that connect her artistic vision with current social and political issues.
