Welcome to the Canadian cultural front of the Russo-Ukrainian War. Over 8 episodes, playwright Andrew Kushnir has intimate conversations with artists in Canada who are putting their art into the fray.
An original podcast from the Shevchenko Foundation, Kultura Rising explores how artists are using everything from photography to theatre to the graphic novel, to ingeniously convert creativity into solidarity.
The Ukrainian-Canadian arts scene is putting up a fight, building connections to Ukraine, and making something new, rebellious, undeniable and all its own. It’s coming from the ground…
In the culminating episode of Kultura Rising, Andrew enters the World of Husar. An acclaimed painter who has turned knowing and accepting yourself into an artform, Natalka Husar brings to life the complexity and joy of being Ukrainian: "A good picture doesn't lie, and it's kind of nice if it winks, too."
16 Apr 2026
Lianna Makuch and Mariya Khomutova: 'Hope dies last'
Andrew connects with beloved ‘compatriotic thespians’ Lianna Makuch and Mariya Khomutova to talk about cultural imperialism and the role theatre has to play in this war. Plus: a really good love story.
Listen to The First Metis Man of Odesa on CBC's PlayMe. (https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/211-playme/episode/16048829-first-metis-man-of-odesa-part-1)
Check out The Division ( https://www.crowstheatre.com/shows-events/the-division?#videos)from Pyretic Productions (https://pyreticproductions.ca) and Project: Humanity (https://www.projecthumanity.ca/) at Crow's Theatre. (https://www.crowstheatre.com/)
9 Apr 2026
Markian Tarasiuk: 'The body just knowing'
Andrew fesses up to a tough call. And his guest, Markian Tarasiuk, goes to show how there’s no question: Ukrainian dance is the beating heart of cultural preservation. It also sparks an intimate conversation about the virtues and shadows of tradition.
Check out the virtual exhibit Journey Through Ukrainian Dance (https://www.exhibit.markiantarasiuk.com/).
Please note this episode contains some coarse language.
2 Apr 2026
Adrian Lysenko and Ivanka Galadza: ‘The Ukrainian optimists'
Through black and white illustrations and carefully-crafted dialogue, writer Adrian Lysenko and graphic artist Ivanka Galadza plunge us into a vivid evocation of the Ukrainian past. And the spaces and silences in their acclaimed graphic novel speak volumes about today.
26 Mar 2026
Taras Lesiuk and Annick Sheedy -McLellan: 'Evidence as art. Art as evidence.'
Andrew spends time on the leading edge of Ukrainian-Canadian filmmaking with Taras Lesiuk and Annick Sheedy-McLellan of Gambade Films (https://www.gambadefilms.ca/). This creative duo lives and breathes cinema’s potential to open doors onto Ukraine. And to help us open our hearts to a culture under siege.
Check out Flyer Boys on Highball TV (https://www.highballtv.com/flyer-boys)
Watch the trailer for Doors of War (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrKtlFM0XKM)
19 Mar 2026
Edward Burtynsky and Maxim Dondyuk: ‘Mirroring who we are’
Two men discover that they speak in the same ‘photographic dialect’. Through their cameras, Edward Burtynsky (https://www.edwardburtynsky.com/) and Maxim Dondyuk (https://maximdondyuk.com/) help us to behold the big and mind-boggling aspects of our humanity. And our mark on the world.
Read more about the White Series installation at Contact in the fall of 2025. (https://contactphoto.com/festival/2025/contact-gallery/maxim-dondyuk-white-series-meditations-on-war)
12 Mar 2026
Marichka: 'In Between the Notes'
Marichka makes vividly clear how music and song are a line to our ancestors and a line to our children. What’s more, that being an artist sometimes means taking unimaginable risks for what you believe in.
Listen to Daughters of Donbas (https://www.youtube.com/@DaughtersofDonbas)
Marichka's Folk Ukraine music archive (https://folk-ukraine.com/)
5 Mar 2026
Maria Reva: 'The Art of Defying Extinction'
Andrew meets his new most-favourite author. Maria Reva’s Endling was a massive literary hit of 2025. It has also become a stunning example of how artists can be interrupted by war – but not stopped.
18 Feb 2026
Introducing...Kultura Rising
Hear it straight from #23 on the Russian Federation’s Stop List. The Shevchenko Foundation presents an original series looking at the brazen players on the Ukrainian-Canadian arts scene in wartime. Hosted and written by Andrew Kushnir, Kultura Rising looks at how creativity can make all the difference.
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