On February 23, the Minister of Culture of France Rima Abdul-Malak visited Ukraine for the first time at the invitation of the Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko.
Also among the members of the French delegation were Laurence de Cars, director of the Louvre Museum, Mathieu Fournet, adviser on cinematography and European and International Affairs, Valéry Freeland, executive director of the ALIPH Foundation, and world-famous French actresses Carole Bouquet and Anaïs Demoustier. From the Ukrainian side were deputy Ministers Galina Grygorenko, Anastasia Bondar and Kateryna Chuyeva.
From the first days of the full-scale war, France supported Ukrainian culture. At the same time, Ukrainian culture has become more famous in France, and artists have more opportunities for realization in this country.
“This is the first and very symbolic visit of Rima Abdul-Malak to Ukraine, on the eve of the anniversary of the start of the full-scale war. We are in constant contact and I am deeply grateful for the support that France provides to Ukraine in many aspects. From the protection of Ukrainian cultural heritage, support of our filmmakers and artists to the joint fight against russian propaganda,” said Oleksandr Tkachenko, Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.
In Kyiv, French culture minister talked with Ukrainian artists, painters and representatives of the film industry, visited the “Ukraine: Crucifixion” exhibition at the World War II museum.
Rima Abdul-Malak visited the “Sofia Kyivska” National Reserve, where she talked with representatives of the Ukrainian media, and also viewed the exposition of the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Arts.
“I am very touched to be here. We have been in regular communication with a colleague for the past months. I am glad to be here today and to talk with specialists and professionals. We are all connected by a single goal: to help and act, and act where we can. I want to say that we have launched the European Solidarity Fund to help Ukrainian films. The initiator of the creation of this Fund is France. 12 other countries have joined to fund. The purpose of this Fund is to support Ukrainian filmmakers, producers, directors, in the creation of new modern films about Ukraine and with the participation of Ukraine. And we have already opened the project competition by mid-March,” said Rima Abdul-Malak.
“This is just one example of our cooperation. We are also talking about collaboration in joint concerts. We are also discussing holding a large exhibition in Paris about millennia of Ukrainian art – Ukraine. Out of blackout”, said Oleksandr Tkachenko, Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.
Rima Abdul-Malak also emphasized that France will continue to support Ukrainian artists, cultural heritage, literature and book publishing, as well as popularize Ukrainian culture in France.
Rima Abdul Malak is a French politician. From May, 2022, she was appointed Minister of Culture of France. Earlier, MCIP offered France to lead the creation of the European Fund for the aid to culture and media.
