Interview with Iryna Chuzhynova. Spoken Archive of Polish-Ukrainian cooperation in the theatre

Interview by Ewa Bal and Yana Partola with Iryna Chuzhynova, Ukrainian independent theatre scholar, graduated from Ivan Karpenko-Karyi Kyiv National University of Theatre, Cinema and Television in 2006, postgraduated from the Maksym Rylsky Institute of Art Studies, Folklore and Ethnology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in 2010. From 2010 to 2013, she worked as a junior research fellow at the Les Kurbas National Centre for Theatre Arts. From 2014 to 2019, she led the public organisation Theatre Platform, where she curated a series of projects in collaboration with Polish curator and dramaturg Joanna Wichowska. Chuzhynova was also a deputy editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian Theatre Journal (2014–2018), head of the analytical department of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation (2019–2021), and chief of the Directorate of Culture and Arts at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine (2022–2023). In 2021, she obtained her PhD degree for her dissertation 'Stage Comedy Genres in the Formative Process of National Theatre Art of the 1920s', specialising in theatre art. She was the Artistic Director at the Ivan Franko National Academic Theatre in Ivano-Frankivsk, as well as the Artistic Director of the Ukrainian Shakespeare Festival in Ivano-Frankivsk (2023–2025). From 2024 to 2025, she was one of the key experts in the 'Culture and Arts' sector within the 'Rapid Expert Support for Culture and Media Policies in Ukraine' (RES POL) project, which was commissioned by the European Commission and the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications to develop cultural policies.
This interview was conducted at the Jagiellonian University as part of a research project funded by the National Science Centre No. 2024/53/B/HS2/02533 entitled 'Theatre as a Laboratory for Polish-Ukrainian encounters from 2014 to the present day. Perspectives of compassionate thinking.