Emboldened to assist Ukraine with its ongoing crisis, Lighthouse Immersive, the producers of Immersive Van Gogh, has brought an immersive exhibit celebrating the work of Ukrainian artist, poet, philosopher and public figure Taras Shevchenko to North America. The one-day showings of IMMERSIVE SHEVCHENKO: SOUL OF UKRAINE in Chicago, Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Toronto raised over $200,000 for Ukraine. Popular demand has prompted additional showings for the following dates and times:
Los Angeles: March 19 | 8 – 10 p.m.
Denver: March 20, 26 | 5 – 8 p.m.
Boston: March 20, 27 | 4 - 6 p.m.
San Francisco: March 27 | 4 – 5 p.m.
Toronto: March 20, 27 | 4 – 6 p.m.
March 26 | 8 – 9 p.m.
Chicago: April 8 | 6 – 9 p.m.
Immersive Shevchenko Toronto – Photo credit Vladimir Kevorkov
100% of proceeds from ticket sales go to the Red Cross Humanitarian Crisis Appeal Fund to Benefit Ukraine and the National Bank of Ukraine Fund. Ticket buyers may select which charity to allocate their contribution to.
“We were blown away by the generosity and curiosity of North Americans with this initiative,” said Lighthouse Immersive Producer Corey Ross. “The words and art of Taras Shevchenko are emblematic of the bravery we are witnessing from Ukrainians today.”
In 2021, Ukraine-born Lighthouse Immersive Associate Producer Valeriy Kostyuk, working with a Ukraine-based team including Producer Natalia Delieva, Creative Director Tais Poda, Composer Timur Polyansky, and Curator-Consultant Dmytro Stus, developed and launched an immersive exhibit of Shevchenko’s work in Odesa. Kostyuk sought to apply the artistry and innovation that Lighthouse Immersive practiced with Vincent Van Gogh to one of Ukraine’s most beloved cultural figures. He was able to work with the National Museum of Taras Shevchenko in Kyiv to obtain access to their collection of paintings, resulting in a one-of-a-kind sensory experience that President Zelensky himself visited before the war began. Now, Lighthouse Immersive has coordinated with the Ukrainian producers in Kyiv and Odesa to bring the exhibit to North America so they can share Ukrainian art and culture with audiences abroad while raising funds for a righteous cause.
“I always wanted to find a way to use my experiences producing in North America to promote Ukrainian artists,” comments Kostyuk. “Ukrainian culture is as beautiful and moving and important as the culture of any other country in the world, and Shevchenko is, in many ways, a father of the independent Ukrainian nation. I have been moved and inspired beyond words by the endurance and resilience of the Ukrainian people in this moment and I am deeply thankful to the incredible team in Ukraine who partnered with me on this project, as well as to the producers at Lighthouse Immersive for standing with me in this moment.”
"Taras Shevchenko, his poems and paintings, are in the genetic code of every Ukrainian. They are in the blood and minds of every man and woman defending their land now. With larger-than-life strength and selflessness," said Andrii Bukvych, Chargé d'affaires of Ukraine to Canada. "I believe the immersion into the Shevchenko world will help you to understand Ukrainians and our spirit. The exhibition will show how the brave Ukrainians are resisting the so-called second largest army in the world. And we prevail."
Taras Shevchenko (March 9, 1814 – March 10, 1861) is largely considered a cultural trailblazer of the independent Ukrainian nation. Born a serf in Russia-occupied Ukraine, Shevchenko was freed in 1838 while a student at the St. Petersburg Academy of Art. A master of Ukrainian painting and graphic art, and a spiritual leader, Shevchenko was the founder of critical realism and the folk element in Ukrainian fine arts. Shevchenko’s creative output primarily reflected the socio-political reality of the Ukrainian people of that period and largely expressed themes of Ukrainian oppression by the Russian government and calls for Ukrainian liberation.
Tickets for IMMERSIVE SHEVCHENKO: SOUL OF UKRAINE are on sale now at lighthouseimmersive.com/immersive-shevchenko.
About Lighthouse Immersive:
Lighthouse Immersive brings together two of Toronto’s preeminent production companies – Starvox Entertainment, Canada’s fastest growing live entertainment company responsible for bringing hit shows like The Art of Banksy to Toronto, and Show One Productions, a full-service production company presenting concerts with high-profile classical musicians, opera stars and orchestras – to bring the world premiere of IMMERSIVE VAN GOGH, IMMERSIVE FRIDA KAHLO and IMMERSIVE KLIMT: REVOLUTION over a dozen North American cities. Working directly with the Italian masters of immersive digital art and other leading global creators, Lighthouse Immersive has custom-designed all exhibits to distinctly envelop the various architectural settings they inhabit.
In the last year, the Canadian company has announced or opened new galleries in 20 U.S. cities including Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York City and Orlando. To date, Lighthouse Immersive has sold over 4.5 million tickets to IMMERSIVE VAN GOGH across North America, with Artnet recently commenting on the wave of immersive galleries, calling it “one of the largest coordinated art phenomena of all time.”
About Russian aggression in Ukraine:
On February 24th, 2022, Russian troops crossed Ukraine’s borders from the territory of Russia, Belarus and the temporarily occupied parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk regions and Crimea. At the same time, Russia Is assaulting Ukraine from the East, South and North (including the territory of Belarus) by air.
Russia's missiles are now aimed at destroying infrastructure. They targeted the radioactive waste disposal site near Kyiv (no leaks detected so far), a gas pipeline in Kharkiv and a fuel base in Vasylkiv (Kyiv region). The levels of ecological threat and toxic contamination are being assessed. Fuel and gas stations around the country continue to be targeted by Russian missiles.
Russian missiles continue to fall on civilians and their homes while Russian tanks attempt to force their way into Ukraine’s capital. According to the UN data, as a result of the war, nearly 4 million Ukrainians have been forced to leave their homes and move abroad. It is the most horrific time for Kyiv since 1941 when the city was attacked by Nazi Germany.