Kharkiv is a dream: building cities for a fragile world Book presentation and talk

Written by three authors, anthropologists Hjørdis Clemmensen and Viktoriia Grivina, and artist and architect Vasylysa Shchogoleva, Kharkiv is a dream is an unusual urban guide. During the talk you will get a chance to listen to a mesmerising
story of urban transformation, share your thoughts on urban identities, and learn how one adapts to living in a war city.

Kharkiv is the second largest city in Ukraine, a megapolis closest to the Russian border, that has been fighting for its survival and its identity for quite some time now. It is a city of artists and poets, snobs and lovers and, like any other city in the world, it is first and foremost a dream of a better future.

The authors zoom in on three events over the past decade. Architect and visual artist Vasylysa Shchogoleva explores the urban space of Kharkiv in 2023 as a place of healing and compassion. Cultural anthropologist Viktoriia Grivina takes us back to 2018 when a piece of street art on a wall became the epicenter of a community conflict. Anthropologist Hjørdis Clemmensen opens a window to the workshop of a group of architecture students in 2013 who wished to not only influence the space around them but also time itself.

There will be a number of signed copies of Kharkiv is a dream available to purchase at the event.