Ivan Vrona, "Kulturtrager" of the erased time

From the middle to the end of the 1920’s Ukrainian culture went through a process of swift uplift thanks to the policy of so-called Ukrainizatsiya (Ukrainisation), which had tragically resulted a decade later into the so-called "Executed Renaissance", when everyone connected to the cultural uprising were arrested and executed, their works destroyed. Ivan Vrona, a young revolutionary activist, was one of the key figures of this short-lived uplift. He established and directed the new Kyiv Art Institute in Ukraine and was responsible for transforming what remained from the Ukrainian Academy of Arts into a contemporary and dynamic art school with a number of new departments including an experimental "Cine-thea-photo" department established by Volodymyr Tatlin. He hired many famous artists, including those who came to work from other Soviet cities, such as Kazimir Malevich. Based on the archival and published material, this chapter investigates Vrona’s efforts in reforming artistic education within a larger European attempt to update conservative academies of fine arts in order to incorporate the achievement of the International avant-garde movement.