Dr Viktoria Bavykina

British Council 90th Anniversary Research Fellow

Dr Viktoria Bavykina

British Council 90th Anniversary Research Fellow, January - December 2025

Home institution: University of Liverpool

Dr Viktoria Bavykina is a curator, art critic, and sociologist of culture. Co-founder of the Ukrainian Photographies platform and co-curator of the Ukrainian Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale.  She is an associate curator of the Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool, where in 2023, she co-curated the HOME programme as part of the EuroFestival, a parallel programme of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest. In 2024, co-organised the symposium on Ukrainian photography at the University of Salford. She works with photography, political art, and feminist optics in artistic practices.  She was a curator of the Grynyov Art Foundation and art director of the AKT art space in Kyiv, Ukraine.  Co-curated several exhibitions dedicated to the Ukrainian Photographic Alternative, an informal group that united over 100 photographers from all over Ukraine. In 2020, Bavykina defended her PhD in sociology of culture at V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. She is a recipient of the UK Government’s Chevening Scholarship.

Project title: Reframing Histories: Art Movements in Postcolonial Studies. 

The aim of my research is to examine the colonial influence and decolonial efforts of countries affected by the colonialism of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union (mainly focusing on Ukraine, Lithuania, and Kazakhstan) by investigating the formation and self-identification of local art movements and art groups. This research is timely and significant as it addresses the pressing issue of Russia's persistent imperial ambitions. Despite the global trend towards decolonisation, Russia continues to harbour imperialistic ambitions. The relevance of studying Russian colonialism has been significantly heightened by the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, which demonstrates pronounced neo-colonial characteristics. A significant challenge in researching this topic is the fact that Russia does not recognise itself as a colonial power, neither historically nor at present. This denial necessitates a robust academic inquiry to support and develop our understanding of long-lasting colonial ideologies and practices.