Report on Odessa by Gerald Lidstone & Anna Schmitz

This report, in two sections, was created for the British Council Ukraine to feed into and inform current thinking and projects related to the development of curriculum design for programmes in Arts Management and Cultural Policy in Ukraine.This was also linked to the SEAS project which intends to create cultural work in Odessa in 2007/8. The second section addresses the potential of both spaces and organisations for this project.

Introduction

“The word “Ukraine‟ means “borderland‟ or “on the edge‟ in the Slavic tongue. Whilst this may be an apt description of the country as a whole it is particularly resonant as a description of Odessa, the nation‟s Black Sea port. Odessa is markedly different from the rest of Ukraine, and is often characterised by Ukrainians as the rebellious and decadent party-girl to the imposing grande-dame of Kiev…”

Odessa report (PDF)