Kultura Rising
On the Cultural Front of This War
Welcome to the Canadian cultural front of the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Over 8 episodes, playwright Andrew Kushnir has intimate conversations with 12 artists in Canada who’ve been putting their art on the line.
An original podcast from The Shevchenko Foundation, Kultura Rising looks at how creativity leads to solidarity across everything from photography to theatre, literature to the graphic novel. And whether it’s through dark humour, song, or powerful imagery, artists are helping us grasp the times we’re in from a whole different angle.
The Ukrainian-Canadian arts scene is certainly putting up a fight for an endangered culture and it’s helping to build lasting heart connections to Ukraine. It’s also making something new, rebellious, undeniable and all its own.
It’s coming from the ground…
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Introducing Kultura Rising
Introducing Kultura Rising
Join host Andrew Kushnir in discovering how the arts and artists have been reshaped in wartime. And how Ukrainian Canadian culture and creativity are meeting the moment.
The Art of Defying Extinction
Ep 1:
The Art of Defying Extinction
March 5, 2026
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.
In Between The Notes
Ep 2:
In Between The Notes
March 12, 2026
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.
Mirroring Who We Are
Ep 3:
Mirroring Who We Are
March 19, 2026
Two men discover that they speak in the same ‘photographic dialect’. Through their cameras, Edward Burtynsky and Maxim Dondyuk help us to behold the big and mind-boggling aspects of our humanity. And our mark on the world.
Evidence as Art. Art as Evidence.
Ep 4:
Evidence as Art.
Art as Evidence.
March 26, 2026
Andrew spends time on the leading edge of Ukrainian-Canadian filmmaking with Taras Lesiuk and Annick Sheedy McLellan. 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.
The Ukrainian Optimists
Ep 5:
The Ukrainian Optimists
April 2, 2026
Through black and white illustrations and carefully-crafted dialogue, Adrian and Ivanka plunge us into a vivid evocation of the Ukrainian past. And the spaces and silences in their acclaimed graphic novel speak volumes about today.
The Body Just Knowing
Ep 6:
The Body Just Knowing
April 9, 2026
Andrew fesses up to a tough decision. And his guest, Markian, goes to show how there’s no question: Ukrainian dance is the beating heart of cultural preservation. It also, in this episode, sparks an intimate conversation about the virtues and shadows of tradition.
Hope Dies Last
Ep 7:
Hope Dies Last
April 16, 2026
Andrew connects with beloved ‘compatriotic thespians’ Lianna and Mariya to talk about cultural imperialism and the role theatre has to play in this war. There’s also a really good love story in the mix.
Torn Heart
Ep 8:
Torn Heart
April 30, 2026
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.”
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