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Scientific Research into Visual Culture and Fine Arts of Independent Ukraine: Main Directions, Issues and Development Trends

Andrii Demianchuk1, Myroslava Tsyhanyk2, Bohdan Tymkiv3, Halyna Bilovus4
1Department of Theater Studies and Acting, Faculty of Culture and Arts, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine
2Department of Theater Studies and Acting, Dean of the Faculty of Culture and Arts, Faculty of Culture and Arts, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine
3Department of Visual Arts, Decorative and Applied Arts, and Design Methods of Teaching, Educational and Scientific Institute of Arts, Vasyl Stefanyk Carpathian National University, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine
4Department of Library Science and Bibliography, Faculty of Culture and Arts, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine
DOI: https://doi.org/10.70517/revcc2624105
Published: 17/09/2026
: Andrii Demianchuk, Myroslava Tsyhanyk, Bohdan Tymkiv, Halyna Bilovus. Scientific Research into Visual Culture and Fine Arts of Independent Ukraine: Main Directions, Issues and Development Trends. Revista Cultura Científica, 2026 Issue 24. pg. 1252-1264.

Abstract

Research on visual culture and fine arts of independent Ukraine has formed an interdisciplinary scientific field, encompassing art history, cultural studies, memory studies, media studies, and sociology of art. The aim of the article is to reconstruct the structure of scientific research on visual culture and fine arts of independent Ukraine; the object of the study is a corpus of publications dedicated to the Ukrainian artistic process of 1991–2026. The study was conducted as a review of the subject field in accordance with PRISMA-ScR using descriptive bibliometric, historiographic, thematic, and comparative analysis. It was found that 58.6% of the included publications were published in 2024–2026, indicating a sharp increase in international and interdisciplinary attention to Ukrainian art. The dominant thematic direction was war, trauma, memory, and protection of cultural heritage, represented in 55.2% of the corpus, while studies of the early period of independence remained significantly less numerous. The expansion of the subject of analysis from painting, graphics and sacred art to museums, urban space, digital platforms, memes, the art market and cultural policy was revealed. The methodological profile of the field is characterized by the predominance of qualitative case studies and historical and interpretative approaches. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the simultaneous mapping of thematic clusters, chronological shifts, methodological disparities, and underdeveloped segments of Ukrainian art history. The practical significance of the results is determined by the possibility of their use for updating educational programs, developing museum and digital archives, determining grant and publishing priorities.

Keywords: visual culture, fine arts, Ukrainian art, art history, decolonization, art of war

Abstract

Research on visual culture and fine arts of independent Ukraine has formed an interdisciplinary scientific field, encompassing art history, cultural studies, memory studies, media studies, and sociology of art. The aim of the article is to reconstruct the structure of scientific research on visual culture and fine arts of independent Ukraine; the object of the study is a corpus of publications dedicated to the Ukrainian artistic process of 1991–2026. The study was conducted as a review of the subject field in accordance with PRISMA-ScR using descriptive bibliometric, historiographic, thematic, and comparative analysis. It was found that 58.6% of the included publications were published in 2024–2026, indicating a sharp increase in international and interdisciplinary attention to Ukrainian art. The dominant thematic direction was war, trauma, memory, and protection of cultural heritage, represented in 55.2% of the corpus, while studies of the early period of independence remained significantly less numerous. The expansion of the subject of analysis from painting, graphics and sacred art to museums, urban space, digital platforms, memes, the art market and cultural policy was revealed. The methodological profile of the field is characterized by the predominance of qualitative case studies and historical and interpretative approaches. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the simultaneous mapping of thematic clusters, chronological shifts, methodological disparities, and underdeveloped segments of Ukrainian art history. The practical significance of the results is determined by the possibility of their use for updating educational programs, developing museum and digital archives, determining grant and publishing priorities.

Keywords: visual culture, fine arts, Ukrainian art, art history, decolonization, art of war

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Andrii Demianchuk
Department of Theater Studies and Acting, Faculty of Culture and Arts, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine
andriy.demyanchuk@lnu.edu.ua
Myroslava Tsyhanyk
Department of Theater Studies and Acting, Dean of the Faculty of Culture and Arts, Faculty of Culture and Arts, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine
Bohdan Tymkiv
Department of Visual Arts, Decorative and Applied Arts, and Design Methods of Teaching, Educational and Scientific Institute of Arts, Vasyl Stefanyk Carpathian National University, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine
Halyna Bilovus
Department of Library Science and Bibliography, Faculty of Culture and Arts, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine

How to cite:

Andrii Demianchuk, Myroslava Tsyhanyk, Bohdan Tymkiv, Halyna Bilovus. Scientific Research into Visual Culture and Fine Arts of Independent Ukraine: Main Directions, Issues and Development Trends. Revista Cultura Científica, 2026 Issue 24. pg. 1252-1264.

Publication History

  • Received: 21/07/2026
  • Accepted: 12/09/2026
  • Published: 17/09/2026
Copyright © 2026, Andrii Demianchuk, Myroslava Tsyhanyk, Bohdan Tymkiv, Halyna Bilovus. Published by Revista Cultura Científica. This article is published as open access under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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