Join us for a virtual discussion with architects working on material logistics and mutual aid networks during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This program is hosted in collaboration with the exhibition Constructing Hope: Ukraine which is currently on view at the CAC through September 1, 2025.
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The Theater of Hopes and Expectations, designed by the Ukrainian artist collective Prykarpattian Theater. This once-temporary theater was repurposed as a permanent home. Courtesy of Prykarpattian Theater.
The second exhibition of this work in the United States after premiering at the Center for Architecture in New York in 2024, Constructing Hope: Ukraine focuses on decentralized reconstruction efforts, presenting the work of grassroots initiatives happening inside and outside of Ukraine. The speakers, Kseniia Kalmus (artist and co-founder of Livyi Bereh) and Ada Wordsworth (founder and director of KHARPP), will sit with the exhibition curators to discuss their work to provide support for rebuilding and repairs across Ukraine. Come join this special opportunity to hear first-hand accounts of how supporting locally can create a collective good.
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Ada Wordsworth is a writer and researcher based between the UK and Ukraine. She is the founder and director of KHARPP, a grassroots UK-registered charity providing support with rebuilding and repairs in Ukraine, both for local residents in Kharkiv Oblast and, more recently, for internally displaced people throughout the country. KHARPP’s work is currently being represented at the Ukrainian Pavilion at the 19th International Architecture Biennale in Venice. She is also a PhD candidate at UCL, where she is researching houses of culture in Ukraine. Her essays, articles, and reviews have been widely published, including in the New York Review of Books, the LA Review of Books, the Telegraph, Granta, The Guardian, and others.
Kseniia Kalmus is a Ukrainian volunteer, entrepreneur, and floral artist. She is the co-founder of the NGO “Livyi Bereh,” which has been leading grassroots reconstruction efforts in de-occupied villages of Ukraine since 2022. Kseniia is also the founder and director of “KLYN Drones,” a volunteer-driven workshop developing and producing FPV drones to support Ukraine’s defense. In 2025, Kseniia is part of the Ukrainian team presenting the national pavilion “DAKH: Vernacular Hardcore” at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition — La Biennale di Venezia. She currently lives and works in Kyiv, Ukraine.
The Constructing Hope: Ukraine exhibition explores short and long term reconstruction efforts in Ukraine bringing together a wide range of grassroots projects to illustrate how architecture can foster mutual aid and facilitate crucial support networks for entire communities.
Constructing Hope: Ukraine is supported in part by the TAWANI Foundation, which is generously matching donations related to the exhibition up to $50,000. Take advantage of this opportunity to double your impact and support CAC's efforts to inspire through architecture education. Click here to donate and select Constructing Hope: Ukraine.
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