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Reconstructing National Memory in the Digital Age: Documentary Film, Audionarratives and Digital Visual Art in Ukraine

Tetiana Hyrina1, Alina Zadorozhnia2, Lidiia Koval3, Angelina Tregub4, Liudmyla Cherniavska-Lomakina5
1Department of Social Communications, Philology, and Culture, State Tax University, Irpin, Ukraine
2Department of Media Communications, Faculty of International Relations, Media and Socio-Political Sciences of Odesa I. I. Mechnikov National University, Odesa, Ukraine
3Department of Digital Art, Faculty of Culture and Creative Industries, Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design, Kyiv, Ukraine
4Department of Design, Municipal Institution of Higher Education “Khortytsia National Educational and Rehabilitation Academy” of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Council, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine
5Journalism Department, Zaporizhzhia State University, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine
DOI: https://doi.org/10.70517/revcc2624166
Published: 15/10/2026
: Tetiana Hyrina, Alina Zadorozhnia, Lidiia Koval, Angelina Tregub, Liudmyla Cherniavska-Lomakina. Reconstructing National Memory in the Digital Age: Documentary Film, Audionarratives and Digital Visual Art in Ukraine. Revista Cultura Científica, 2026 Issue 24. pg. 1986-2001.

Abstract

The article examines the specifics of the transformation of Ukrainian national memory in the digital era from the perspective of documentary film, audio narratives and digital visual arts. The aim of the study is to determine the role of digital cultural practices in the preservation, representation and actualization of historical experience, the formation of cultural identity, social consolidation and international representation of Ukraine. The methodology is based on an interdisciplinary approach and combines methods of analysis and synthesis, comparative, systemic, content, discursive, visual and audiovisual analysis. We demonstrate that digitalization transforms national memory from a mostly institutional model into a network, multimodal and participatory system, in which documentary, audio and visual formats serve complementary functions. They become particularly relevant in the Russian-Ukrainian war, as they enable quick documentation of events, preservation of personal testimonies, symbolic formulation of traumatic experience and its international communication. The main risks of digital memory are identified: disinformation, decontextualization, platform dependence, privacy violations, and technological obsolescence. The study emphasizes the need for systematic verification of digital materials, standardization of metadata, backups, open formats, and the creation of a reliable institutional framework for digital archiving.

Keywords: national memory, digital memory, cultural identity, documentary film, audio narratives, digital visual art

Abstract

The article examines the specifics of the transformation of Ukrainian national memory in the digital era from the perspective of documentary film, audio narratives and digital visual arts. The aim of the study is to determine the role of digital cultural practices in the preservation, representation and actualization of historical experience, the formation of cultural identity, social consolidation and international representation of Ukraine. The methodology is based on an interdisciplinary approach and combines methods of analysis and synthesis, comparative, systemic, content, discursive, visual and audiovisual analysis. We demonstrate that digitalization transforms national memory from a mostly institutional model into a network, multimodal and participatory system, in which documentary, audio and visual formats serve complementary functions. They become particularly relevant in the Russian-Ukrainian war, as they enable quick documentation of events, preservation of personal testimonies, symbolic formulation of traumatic experience and its international communication. The main risks of digital memory are identified: disinformation, decontextualization, platform dependence, privacy violations, and technological obsolescence. The study emphasizes the need for systematic verification of digital materials, standardization of metadata, backups, open formats, and the creation of a reliable institutional framework for digital archiving.

Keywords: national memory, digital memory, cultural identity, documentary film, audio narratives, digital visual art

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Tetiana Hyrina
Department of Social Communications, Philology, and Culture, State Tax University, Irpin, Ukraine
hirinatetyana@kmail.com
Alina Zadorozhnia
Department of Media Communications, Faculty of International Relations, Media and Socio-Political Sciences of Odesa I. I. Mechnikov National University, Odesa, Ukraine
Lidiia Koval
Department of Digital Art, Faculty of Culture and Creative Industries, Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design, Kyiv, Ukraine
Angelina Tregub
Department of Design, Municipal Institution of Higher Education "Khortytsia National Educational and Rehabilitation Academy" of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Council, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine
Liudmyla Cherniavska-Lomakina
Journalism Department, Zaporizhzhia State University, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine

How to cite:

Tetiana Hyrina, Alina Zadorozhnia, Lidiia Koval, Angelina Tregub, Liudmyla Cherniavska-Lomakina. Reconstructing National Memory in the Digital Age: Documentary Film, Audionarratives and Digital Visual Art in Ukraine. Revista Cultura Científica, 2026 Issue 24. pg. 1986-2001.

Publication History

  • Received: 15/07/2026
  • Accepted: 27/09/2026
  • Published: 15/10/2026
Copyright © 2026, Tetiana Hyrina, Alina Zadorozhnia, Lidiia Koval, Angelina Tregub, Liudmyla Cherniavska-Lomakina. 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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