You Destroy. We Create.

What happens when museums can no longer show their collections, instead need to hide them? What does it mean to be a street artist when your city is being bombed? What does it take to be a musician when your country is under attack?

“You Destroy. We Create.” takes you on a 25-minute immersive journey through the war-torn country, where artists and professionals from the cultural sphere are busy protecting, rebuilding and creating art.

In the televised speech prior to Russia’s invasion, Vladimir Putin claimed that Ukraine was part of Russia’s “history, culture and spiritual space,” indicating the strategy behind systematically destroying Ukrainian cultural identity.

Since the start of the war, civilian deaths have mounted to over 6,000 and over 7 million have fled the country, resulting in Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II. Another major casualty of the war has been art & culture. According to UNESCO, by November 2022, over 200 sites of cultural significance have been damaged across the country. This includes monuments of historical importance, museums that house significant art collections, institutions that are home to intangible cultural heritage such as theatres etc.

The 1954 Hague Convention, to which both Russia and Ukraine are signatories, aims to protect cultural property, regardless of their origin or ownership, in wartime. Deliberate and targeted attacks of objects of cultural importance may be deemed as a war crime.

This topical journalistic piece uses a combination of 360°/180° stereo videos, drone footage, photogrammetry scans and CG animations to bring you an emotionally engaging, urgent human story.