When national identity is under attack, the museum becomes a shield of its defence. For decades, the Soviet Union attributed Ukrainian artistic achievement to Moscow, and in the public memory much of it remains Russian. The Museum of the Ukrainian Avant-Garde reclaims this heritage and restores the continuity of Ukrainian art history between the early twentieth century and the present.

Authera has provided strategic support for the founding of the institution since 2021. The agency developed the founding strategy, the museum’s mission and vision, and the narrative framework articulating its cultural and political necessity. Authera co-designed the Avant-Garde Festival and secured grant funding for it. The festival was cancelled following the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022. The agency then moved the project’s centre of gravity to Europe. Working with Ukraine’s Embassy in Belgium and Luxembourg and its Mission to the EU, Authera built a partner network of collectors, museums, scholars and artists, and led the project’s communications through the founding period.

Outcomes:

→ 2021: founding strategy developed; grant secured for the Avant-Garde Festival.
→ November 2024: the museum was formally established, in wartime.
→ March 2025: international debut at TEFAF Maastricht, the world’s leading art and antiques fair.
→ Authera supported the organisation and coordination of a private stakeholder dinner at TEFAF, which convened 19 guests: directors of European museums, leading art dealers and collectors, and a curator. Ukraine’s Ambassador to the EU and an Honorary Consul of Ukraine attended in an informal capacity.
→ May 2025: Kyiv City Council voted 76 to 1 to grant the museum a historic estate at 16 Lypska Street.
→ A supervisory board uniting leading figures in art, law, diplomacy, science and business.