"DAKH (ДАХ): Vernacular Hardcore" in the Ukrainian Pavilion in Venice

On 8 May 2025, the Ukrainian Pavilion was inaugurated at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition — La Biennale di Venezia, presenting the exhibition DAKH (ДАХ): Vernacular Hardcore. 

“Dakh” in Ukrainian means “roof.” The roof is the most basic form of architecture. It provides shelter from the fickle elements and cocoons the mundane routines of everyday life. But in the perilous conjuncture of full-scale war—a fight fought in large part in the skies, by drones and missiles—the roof also becomes the first point of impact for hostile projectiles.

The exhibition DAKH: Vernacular Hardcore juxtaposes the “heritage vernacular” of traditional Ukrainian village housing with the “emergency vernacular” of self-organised reconstruction work carried out under wartime conditions.

The exhibit comprises six elements, among them a photographic exploration of war-dehydrated landscapes in Mykolaiv Region by artist and writer Yevgenia Belorusets. The work highlights this interdependence through a project dedicated to Mykolaiv Water Utility workers, who have fought since 2022 to sustain water flow in systems devastated by Russian attacks—a crucial lifeline for one of Ukraine’s major cities. Just as roofs shelter above, functioning utilities are the foundation below.

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DAKH (ДАХ): Vernacular Hardcore

Date: 10 May — 23 November 2025

Venue: Arsenale, Sale d’Armi, building A, 1st floor

The Ukrainian Pavilion is commissioned by Tetyana Filevska, Creative Director of the Ukrainian Institute, together with co-commissioning institutions, the Ukrainian Institute and RIBBON International. The project is supported by the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

Curators: Bogdana Kosmina, architect; Kateryna Rusetska; Michał Murawski

Architects & ethnographers: Oksana Kosmina, Tamara Kosmina

Project team: Yevgenia Belorusets (artist/consultant); DRONES FOR DRONES, a series of drone music compilations, curated by artist Clemens Poole for Kyivpastrans Records and released in collaboration with Fallout Noise volunteer collective; Vladyslav Sharapa (artist/consultant); Kseniia Kalmus (artist/consultant); Ihor Okuniev (artist/consultant); Ada Wordsworth (artist/consultant); Clemens Poole (sound curator) and Dmytro Vortman (cartographer)