The trustees of the Ukrainian Institute London are pleased to announce that from 1 September 2020 the Director of the Institute will be Dr Olesya Khromeychuk.
Olesya will succeed Marina Pesenti, who has been Director since 2015. The trustees are very grateful for all that Marina has done for the Institute. For the first two years she received no fee. Since 2015 the Institute has grown and developed rapidly, reaching wider audiences year by year. By 2018-2019 it had over 7,000 Facebook followers and 1,279 newsletter subscribers. In 2016 it was registered as a charity. Marina has actively built partnerships with leading UK academic and cultural institutions. She has organised a wide range of lectures, panel discussions and film screenings, as well as the ongoing Ukrainian language classes and book club. She has helped to raise funds from a variety of donors, including through memorable and enjoyable Ukrainian-themed parties. Under her direction, the Institute has helped Ukraine to build its own narrative in the UK, and has both deepened its programming and reached a wider audience, including the Jewish community in London.
Olesya Khromeychuk is a historian of 20th century East-Central Europe, specializing in Ukrainian history. She teaches at King’s College London, and has previously taught at the University of Cambridge, University College London and the University of East Anglia. She taught a special module at the Ukrainian Catholic University in 2019. Olesya also runs a theatre company, Molodyi Teatr London, that stages documentary pieces exploring urgent social and political themes, including the war in Eastern Ukraine. Originally from Lviv, Olesya Khromeychuk moved to the UK in 2000, since when she has been actively engaged in the life of the Ukrainian community in London and beyond.
