Kateryna Iakovlenko

Kateryna Iakovlenko is a Ukraine-based writer and curator. Her practice explores the intersections of war, memory, material culture, art and trauma. She ia an author of libretto “On the Eve of the Ongoing War, or Those Who Saw Death” (2025, ilostmylibrary), and a book “Donbas as Metaphor” (2026, istpublishing). With over a decade of experience in the cultural sector, she collaborated with the Izolyatsia Foundation, PinchukArtCentre, Ujazdowski Castle, e-flux, Kyiv Biennale etc. For last four years she served as Editor-in-Chief of Suspilne Kultura, Ukraine’s public broadcaster’s cultural desk. Currently she stays as Associate Editor and focusing on independent writing and curatorial projects.

As a critic and curator she working on so-called “Remains Theory”, a research project that turns towards the material culture of war and on how these remaints shape the memories and art. As a writer, she works on a collection of short fiction dedicated to the old people who lost their home on war.

“What Remains of War” is a research-based project developing Remains Theory, an inquiry into the material culture of war and the ways its remnants shape memory, history, and knowledge. Bringing material culture, art and curatorial pricticies into dialogue with language, and archival work, this project considers how remnants are documented, interpreted, and transformed into historical evidence and cultural memory. It approaches war remains as active agents in the production of knowledge, challenging established narratives and opening new ways of thinking about war.