Sviatoslav Vakarchuk attended the annual PEN International conference in Stockholm and delivered a keynote on the artist's role in wartime.
Sviatoslav Vakarchuk was the special guest at the 91st Congress of PEN International — the global writers' and artists' association founded in 1921. The event took place in Stockholm with over 150 delegates from 65 countries. In a 45-minute keynote, the artist shared thoughts on the musician's role as a 'cultural diplomat' in wartime. 'Ukrainian culture has spent three and a half years proving that art is not an addendum to struggle — it IS struggle. Every song, every play, every exhibition released into the world during war reshapes narratives about our country,' Vakarchuk declared, referencing the Okean Elzy tour experience of 2022-2025. A separate part of the keynote addressed censorship of the aggressor state's culture in Europe — the artist urged not to conflate 'cultural diplomacy' and 'cultural silence,' pointing to concrete examples from the music industry. The conference also adopted a resolution establishing a Ukrainian Cultural Diplomacy Coordination Council under PEN International — Vakarchuk was elected to its advisory board. Full keynote video is available on PEN International's official YouTube channel.
