20 May 2026
Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University

On 20 May 2026, as part of the Science Festival 2026, the Faculty of Fine Arts and Design at Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University hosted the 2nd International Scientific Roundtable titled “Turkology in the Context of Contemporary Oriental Studies in Art History.” The event served as an important platform for intercultural dialogue, the development of international academic cooperation and the promotion of research in the fields of Turkology, Art History and cultural heritage. The event was organized and supported by: NGO “El-Cheber”, “Ukrainian Family” Community (Republic of Turkey), the Canadian Association of Crimean Tatars (Canada) and the Polish Foundation “Art Cluster” (Republic of Poland).

The participants of the Round Table were welcomed by:

• Nataliia Vinnikova, Head of the Academic Council at Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University, Vice-Rector for Research and International Affairs, Doctor of Science in Philology, Professor;
• Sheikh Murat, Mufti of the Religious Administration of Muslims of Ukraine “Umma”;
• Akhtem Seitablaiev, Director of the State Enterprise “Crimean House”, Honored Artist of Ukraine, a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
• Ostap Kovalchuk, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Design at Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University, PhD in Art History, Associate Professor, Honored Artist of Ukraine.

The plenary session featured presentations by:

• Vita Mykhailova, Head of the “Ukrainian Family” Community (Republic of Turkey), with the presentation “The Ukrainian Community in Antaliia as a Space for Cultural Diplomacy and Crisis Support”;
• Gulnara Abdulaieva, Coordinator of Social Projects at the State Enterprise “Crimean House” (Ukraine), with the presentation “Documentary Video Projects about Crimea in the Activities of the State Enterprise “Crimean House”;
• Halyna Sahan, Doctor of Science in History, Professor, Professor of the Department of World History, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University (Ukraine), with the presentation “The Crimean Diaspora in Turkey: A New Paradigm of Cooperation with Compatriots Following the Occupation of Crimea in 2014”;
• Rustem Skybin, Chairman of the Board of the Public Organization “El-Cheber”, People's Artist of Ukraine and a Bachelor's degree student in the Digital Ethno-Art programme at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University (Ukraine), with the presentation “Crimean Tatar Military Identity, 2022–2026”.

During the roundtable discussion, participants addressed current issues in modern Oriental Studies and Art History research. The main topics covered were:

• the material culture of Turkic peoples: traditions, reconstruction, and contemporary representation;
• Crimean Tatar art: preservation, digitalization, and musealization;
• archaeology, history and source studies within the field of Turkological research;
• Oriental motifs in European art;
• collections of Turkic art in museums and archives;
• Turkic–Ukrainian cultural connections and educational practices.

The discussion platform featured presentations by:

• Olha Shkolna, Head of the Department of Fine Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University (Ukraine), Doctor of Art History, Professor, with the presentation “Artistic and Iconographic Features of Dervish Tekkes in Europe from the Thirteenth to the Early Twenty-First Century”;
• Viacheslav Baranov, Research Fellow at the Department of Kyiv Archaeology, Institute of Archaeology at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Ukraine), with the presentation “On the Slavic–Khazar Frontier: A New/Old Hoard from the Early Eighth Century Discovered near Smila (Cherkasy Region)”;
• Nadiia Havryliuk, Doctor of Science in History, Deputy Director of the Research Institute of Ukrainian Studies of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and Leading Research Fellow at the Department of Classical Archaeology, Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Ukraine), with the presentation “The Northern Black Sea Region in the Fifteenth–Seventeenth Centuries as a Contact Zone between Crimea and the Steppe”;
• Alina Dochu, Visiting Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology at McMaster University, representative of the Canadian Association of Crimean Tatars, Research Fellow at the O. O. Potebnia Institute of Linguistics, PhD in Philology (Canada), with the presentation “Vocabulary of Ukrainian Origin in the Crimean Tatar Language”;
• Dariia Hryhorenko, undergraduate student of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University (Ukraine), with the presentation “Crimean Tatar Themes in the Works of Ivan Aivazovsky”;
• Tamara Maliarchuk, Deputy Director and Chief Custodian of Collections of the Central State Archive-Museum of Literature and Arts of Ukraine (Ukraine), with the presentation “Documents on Crimean Tatar Culture in the Collections of the Central State Archive-Museum of Literature and Arts of Ukraine”;
• Oleksii Vlasov, PhD student in Fine Arts, Decorative Arts and Restoration at Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University (Ukraine), with the presentation “The Bakhchysarai ‘Ileri’ Artel and Mainland Ukraine: Interconnections of Ceramic Traditions in the 1920s–1930s”;
• Olha Konovalova, Associate Professor of the Department of Fine Arts, PhD in Art History (Ukraine), with the presentation “Symbolic Dimensions of Matter in the Life-Creative Practice of Serhii Parajanov”;
• Veronika Zaitseva, Vice-Dean for Research and International Affairs, PhD in Art History, Associate Professor (Ukraine), with the presentation “Crimean Tatar Fairy-Tale Folklore in Publications of the Veselka Publishing House: Tradition, Translation and Illustration”;
• Liliia Derman, Head of the Department of Design and Fine Arts, Faculty of Technologies and Design, Ukrainian State Mykhailo Drahomanov University (Ukraine), PhD in Philosophy, with the presentation “Crimean Tatar Art in the Context of Historical Transformations and Cultural Memory”;
• Mykola Vaskiv, Senior Research Fellow at the Research Institute of Ukrainian Studies at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Doctor of Science in Philology, Professor (Ukraine), with the presentation “Yulii Meitus's Contribution to the Formation and Development of Turkmen Classical Music”;
• Ostap Kovalchuk, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, PhD in Art History, Associate Professor (Ukraine), with the presentation “Themes of Genocide, Political Repression and Deportation during the Totalitarian Era through the Prism of Chinghiz Aitmatov’s Legacy in Early Twenty-First-Century Ukrainian Visual Art”;
• Ivan Bratus, Vice-Dean for Academic and Methodological Affairs, PhD in Philology, Associate Professor (Ukraine), with the presentation “Female Figures in the Bible”;
• Marharyta Puhachenko, founder of the Art Cluster Foundation, PhD in Fine Arts, Decorative Arts and Restoration (Poland), and Marta Kalapun, Artistic Director of the People's House in Bolekhiv and Head of the Archives Department of the Executive Committee of the Bolekhiv City Council (Ukraine), with the joint presentation “Ornaments of Tombstones in the Jewish Cemetery of Bolekhiv.”

The event brought together scholars, artists, cultural professionals, representatives of public organizations and students from Ukraine and abroad. It contributed to the development of international scholarly communication, the preservation of the cultural heritage of Turkic peoples, and the strengthening of Ukrainian–Turkic cultural dialogue.