Lutsk, the Ukrainian city reborn in the midst of war through art and cultural activism

Best known for its medieval castle , the Ukrainian city of Lutsk is currently gaining momentum in the midst of war as a national cultural tourism destination. and hopes to make itself known abroad as well, thanks to the ambitious and tireless action of a constellation of NGOs and social activists, unusual in municipalities of its size.

With just over 200,000 inhabitants and located in northwestern Ukraine , near the border with Poland , the capital of the historical region of Volhynia faces, like many other places of its kind in post-communist Europe, the threat of depopulation and economic depression.

The Russian military invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated these threats, but it has also spurred the civic initiative currently transforming the cultural life and urban landscape of Lutsk, which, despite being among Ukraine's furthest cities from the front, has been a frequent target of Russian attacks because it hosts a major Ukrainian army airbase.

"Lutsk was often considered a transit city to Poland, and many people from here emigrated abroad or went to Lviv or Kyiv," said Ella Yatsuta, founder of the NGO Frontera and leader of the civic collective Algorytm.

"Now people from other cities see that there are opportunities in Kutsk to develop their own potential ," he added.

Rehabilitate buildings and spaces

One of the most iconic projects recently launched in Lutsk is the Abo Abo space, which its promoters define as a development center for the creative industries. Once completed, it will serve to organize exhibitions, record podcasts, and serve as a meeting place for artists and cultural entrepreneurs.

In addition to refurbishing and opening the building to the public, this initiative by the NGO Algorytm has brought life to the small square in front of the former telecommunications palace , which is already a regular spontaneous gathering place for many young people in Lutsk until curfew.

Equally important in transforming the municipality's geography could be the project with which citizen groups like Misto.Reboot aim to transform the former Luchanka industrial zone.

In the generally decrepit buildings that once housed one of the Soviet Union's most important textile factories , new businesses have begun to operate, such as a workshop for restoring traditional instruments and a space for making and selling alternative clothing, which is already attracting many customers to an area of the city that was previously largely ignored.

Thanks to the work of Algorytm and its partners at the NGO Frontera, which is organizing one of Ukraine's most prominent literature festivals this weekend in Lutsk, an artist residency program has also taken shape.

This program is dedicated to the memory of Yurko Pokalchuk , one of the most beloved and influential figures in the Volhynian region's literary and musical scene of recent decades, and will also provide the city with a new space for artistic expression and exchange .

The project revolves around the so-called Pako House, named after Pokalchuk, a writer, poet, and singer known to all as Pako, a play on the vowels in the first letters of his name that accidentally reflects Pako's connection to the Spanish language.

A polyglot and pioneer in the introduction of Latin American literature in the Soviet Union, Pako (1941-2008) spoke Spanish and was one of the first translators of authors such as Borges and Cortázar.

"We're not looking to build bronze busts or create a story about the past, but to talk about the present , because this is what shaped us, it's where we started from," said Anna Ekimenko-Polishchuk of the NGO Frontera and one of the many Ukrainians influenced by the artist's legacy, in the garden of the house that Pako's family has bequeathed for the project.