ANDRIANA KURUTS (Uzhhorod, Ukraine)
An active member of the Save nabka community, citizen of Uzhhorod, 40 years old, local patriot, pottery artist. Save nabka is a group of people of different professions, united by the idea of rescuing an extremely valuable public place, a symbol of the city, Nezalezhnosti embankment, from extremely thoughtless large-scale interventions. “Lypova aleia” (Linden Alley) on the waterfront of the river Uzh is a monument of garden art and part of the historic landmark of the town “Malyi Galagov”. The Governmental Quarter of “Malyi Galagov” and the embankment were built in Uzhhorod in the 20–30s of the last century, at a time when the city belonged to the newly established Czechoslovak Republic and is a unique object of the modernist era. Integrated construction has a chance to be added to the world heritage list by UNESCO. This object is of strategic importance both for the city and for Ukraine. The reconstruction of the embankment needs to be treated responsibly.
Save nabka is about the attention to the city, a careful attitude to the historical environment.
Save nabka is an attempt to create a civil society at the local level, where residents influence the situation and control the changes in the city.
Save nabka analyzed the project to repair the waterfront and found numerous violations. The created group organized rallies, pickets, duties, and the blocking of illegal works. In parallel, petitions were created, requests were sent to the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection, the Ministry of Culture, State Architectural and Construction Inspection of Ukraine; consultations with dendrologists, architects and specialists from the Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Germany, ICOMOS were held.
Save nabka informs everyone who is interested in the events on Facebook page Save Uzhhorod.
Andriana is a speaker at Plan B Day. The later will be held February 15–17 at Mental Complex Studio, Lopans’ka embankment, 2/2. Participation in Plan B Day is free upon registration: http://bit.ly/2Kv57VN. If you have already registered, you do not need to fill out the form again.