A new podcast featuring Canadian artists fighting for an endangered culture
On this fourth anniversary of the genocidal invasion of an independent Ukraine, The Shevchenko Foundation (TSF) is introducing Kultura Rising – an original, limited-series podcast that spotlights the response of Canadian artists to the attempted erasure of Ukrainian cultural identity by Russia.
Written and hosted by award-winning playwright, director and activist, Andrew Kushnir (Globe and Mail Artist of the Year), Kultura Rising features intimate conversations with 12 artists in Canada who have been putting their art onto the cultural front of this war – including KOBZAR Book Award winner and Booker Prize finalist Maria Reva, painter Natalka Husar, photographers Ed Burtynsky and Maxim Dondyuk, among many others.
Discover how creativity leads to solidarity across everything from theatre to literature to the graphic novel. Whether it’s through dark humour, song, or powerful imagery, artists are helping us grasp the wartime we’re in from a whole different angle.
The 8-episode series begins on March 5, with the show teaser now released. Kushnir – who was the inaugural recipient of TSF’s REACH Mentorship/Residency for the Arts – says of Kultura Rising: “It’s hard to imagine a silver lining when it comes to this protracted war. But something extraordinary has been happening: Ukrainian-Canadian artists are finding one another, building a community, and tuning people’s hearts to Ukrainian realities, narratives, challenges and dreams, like never before. It’s part of the resistance. And I’ve been incredibly inspired to meet artists across this country who are standing with Ukraine in this way.”
TSF Executive Director, Bohdana Bashuk offers: “As the war against Ukraine rages thousands of kilometres away from us here in Canada, we underestimate the power of art and artists to share the stories that connect and build the bridges that unite us. We’re excited about this opportunity to showcase the motivation behind the creativity of some of our most talented, accomplished and influential Ukrainian Canadian artists as they uphold the cultural front spanning the globe.”
Episodes of Kultura Rising will be released weekly on Thursdays beginning on March 5. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Kultura Rising is an original podcast from The Shevchenko Foundation.
Writer and Host: Andrew Kushnir
Senior Producer: Alison Broverman
Executive Producer: Pippa Johnstone
Editor and Sound Designer: Mark Angly
Original music: Daughters of Donbas (featuring Marichka)
Podcast graphics: Nicholas Luchak
About The Shevchenko Foundation
The Shevchenko Foundation is a leading nation-wide charitable organization entrusted to preserve, develop, and promote Ukrainian Canadian arts, heritage, community, and education.
About the Team behind Kultura Rising
Andrew Kushnir is a Ukrainian-Canadian playwright, director and activist. He is the artistic director of the arts organization Project: Humanity and founder of the We Support LGBTQ Ukraine Fund. In January 2026, he was officially sanctioned by the Russian Federation for his work on the cultural front, including his multi-award-winning production of Bad Roads and his upcoming world premiere of The Division at Crow’s Theatre.
Pippa Johnstone is a media producer in Vancouver, and creator of the podcasts Expectant (Ambie-nominated for Best Independent podcast), With Dignity: the story of Casey House, Word Bomb (TVO).
Alison Broverman is an award-winning writer and audio producer based in Toronto. Her recent podcast credits include The Whisper Network and How to Fix the Internet.
For more information contact:
Iryna Mycak
Communications and Community Relations Officer
The Shevchenko Foundation
E-mail: iryna@shevchenkofoundation.ca
Mobile: +1 416-919-6566