2023-12-29 11:31:00
The end of the year brought little good news for the Ukrainians: While the frontline is dominated by costly trench battles, US military aid is hampered by domestic political disputes and an EU financial package worth fifty billion euros is blocked by the veto of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Against this adverse backdrop, the inauguration of the Jam Factory Art Center in Lviv in November was not only a significant cultural event, but also a much-needed positive message in the second winter of the war during ongoing Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities.
In Lviv, which on the one hand is considered the Ukrainian cultural capital, there has also been a lack of an institution for contemporary art and culture, which is why the opening of the largest center for contemporary art in Ukraine is fulfilling long-cherished wishes of local artists, musicians and writers. The center, equipped to the best international standards, has a capital exhibition hall, the “Black Cube” for musical performances and conferences, various offices and even an air raid shelter – today an integral part of Ukrainian architectural projects.
Art palace for the cultural capital of Ukraine
The art center is housed in a historic neo-Gothic building in an industrial suburban district of Lviv where, until recently, there were no cultural activities. During the Soviet era, the building, reminiscent of a fairytale medieval castle, served as a jam factory, hence its name in the city’s folklore, which the institution’s founder, the German-Swiss historian and art collector Harald Binder, retained.
As a scientist, Binder specialized in the history of the Austro-Hungarian Empire; he wrote the important book “Galicia in Vienna” about the province of Galicia in what is now western Ukraine. But the archival studies in Lviv did not seem to satisfy him, nor did the accumulation of his vast collection of modern art greats from Edgar Degas and Koloman Moser to Edvard Munch and Max Beckmann.
Groundbreaking: Harald Binder at the opening of the Lemberg Cultural Center. : Image: Sofia Soliar
The scion of an old German-Swiss industrial family became the most important benefactor of the western Ukrainian metropolis. In 2004, Binder founded the Center for Urban History of East Central Europe in Lviv, for which his foundation purchased and renovated a beautiful Art Nouveau villa in the old town of Lviv. The center has become an internationally recognized urban studies institute, frequented by European and North American scholars, and has a specialized library with more than 10,000 volumes, the best of its kind in Ukraine.
The Jam Factory Contemporary Art Center, which testifies to Binder’s passion for Lviv’s city history, was created after he discovered the picturesque ruins of the factory eight years ago. The reconstruction of the building also brought to light the tragic fate of the Konik family, who originally owned the building. Jozef Konik, a Jewish entrepreneur, built it in 1872. It served as a schnapps distillery and remained in the family’s possession until the Second World War. During the Nazi occupation of Lviv, virtually all members of the Konik family died in concentration camps.
Cultural center commemorates the destroyed Jewish population
The same fate befell their neighbors. A synagogue built by Jewish entrepreneurs near the factory was burned down by the Nazis. Binder not only contacted relatives of the Konik family, who approved his project and were happy that the building that once belonged to their ancestors would be given new life, but also met some survivors in the United States who had visited the destroyed synagogue as children . Today, the Konik company sign has been restored to the wall of the building, and there is also a memorial plaque commemorating the founders of the synagogue that was destroyed by the Nazis.
Konstantin Akinscha Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 11 Luca Vazgec Published/Updated: Recommendations: 15 Anja Helmbrecht Published/Updated:
Some rooms in the cultural center recall the factory’s past and the tragic destruction of Jewish families in the region during the Holocaust. This links the modern cultural center with the city’s history. The opening of the jam factory, originally planned for spring 2022, was postponed due to the Russian invasion; the reconstructed parts of the building initially provided accommodation for refugees and volunteers collecting relief supplies. But at the end of the second year of the war, the center opened its doors to the general public. The first exhibition “Our Years, Our Losses, Our Search, Our Us,” curated by Kateryna Iakovlenko, Natalia Mazenko and Borys Filonenko, featured works by sixty Ukrainian artists reflecting on the human situation during this war.
Audience response: Visitors to the opening exhibition in the Lemberg jam factory. : Image: Sofia Soliar
Thousands of Lviv citizens came to the jam factory, which had been converted into an art center, offering war-torn people relaxation and help in coping with their traumas. It showed how a newly created cultural center rooted in forgotten historical heritage can counteract the wanton destruction of culture by the Russian occupiers. The success of the Jam Factory also proves that the private initiative of an individual can reshape the cultural landscape of a large city, even in the face of historical catastrophe.
From English by Kerstin Holm.
Konstantin Akinschaborn in Kiev in 1960, is a Ukrainian art historian.
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