The spring season of 2022 began with a series of events as part of the international CityX Foundation project, a collaboration between Ukraine, the United States, and Georgia (Sakartvelo). The Ukrainian side was represented by the Kharkiv Municipal Gallery and the VOVATANYA Gallery.

CityX is an NFT collection representing some of the most prominent artists of Kharkiv from the 20th and 21st centuries. The initiative is based on the foundation laid by the CityХА project of 2017–2018 — organized by the National Art Museum in Kyiv and the Kharkiv Municipal Gallery — which had a major impact on the gallery scene in Kharkiv and Ukraine.

From 2022 to 2025, the project included panel discussions, presentations, participation in conferences and art fairs. CityX also visited Paris, Lisbon, Valencia, New York, and Mexico. The Director of the Municipal Gallery, Tetyana Tumasyan, together with the CityX team, participated in all discussions related to the Ukrainian NFT collection of artists, spoke about Ukrainian art, and raised the issue of the potential loss of art as a result of the full-scale war in Ukraine.

The mission of CityX is to preserve Ukrainian art through NFT technology and support Ukrainian artists in Kharkiv and galleries affected by the war; CityX contributes to the restoration of cultural spaces. Thanks to innovative technologies such as blockchain and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), art experts and enthusiasts can help ensure the protection and longevity of Ukrainian art.

Ukrainian masters of the 20th century — Borys Kosarev, Vasyl Myronenko, Vagrich Bakhchanyan, and many other renowned artists — made an important contribution to the development of world art. Their creative legacy has been continued in the art of contemporary artists such as Hamlet Zinkivskyi, Artem Volokytin, and Roman Minin.

The first CityX Foundation collection included works by 13 outstanding Kharkiv artists whose creative vision impresses and inspires with its innovative and bold concepts, as well as their successors:

• Borys Kosarev, “Swimming Pool”, 1920s. Paper, pencil. 30 х 19.5 cm. Link
• Vasyl Myronenko, “Kharkiv in 1954”, 1951. Paper, color etching. 50 х 40. Link
• Vagrich Bakhchanyan, “Untitled”, 1990. Paper, collotype. 19.3 х 15.5. Link
• Vitalii Kulikov, “Lilith”, 2004. Canvas, oil. 86 х 56. Link
• Oleg Mitasov, Borys Redko, “Rabbit”, 1990. Fiberboard, oil, nitro paint, acrylic. 70 х 50. Link
• Serhiy Bratkov, “Sex Shop. Rabbit”, 2016. Photography, collage. 60 х 90. Link
• Olena Lisnycha, “America’s Nightmare”, 2009. Oil. 90 х 56. Link
• Stanislav Hadzevych, “Tableware”, 2008. Canvas, oil. 60 х 90. Link
• Ihor Illinskyi, “The Kiss”, 2016. Canvas, oil. 50 х 65. Link
• Artem Volokytin, “Photosynthesis”, 2016-2017. Canvas, oil. 160 х 130. Link
• Roman Minin, “Friendship Saves”, 2010. Canvas, acrylic, enamel. 60 х 80. Link
• Hamlet Zinkivskyi, “9 People Indifferent to Everything”, 2011. Paper. 70 х 100. Link
• Hamlet Zinkivskyi, Roman Minin, “Gogol Dreamed of Wild Animals” (fragment of a fresco), 2008. Acrylic. 200 х 150. Link

The first event of the CityX project was Digital Art Fair CADAF, the fifth digital art fair at the Web3 gallery, held from November 11 to 13, 2022, in New York. Since 2019, CADAF has organized digital art fairs featuring around 1,000 works by more than 500 artists from around the world. CADAF events have taken place in New York, Miami, Paris, and virtually. At Art Fair CADAF 2023 (New York), five Ukrainian artists from the CityX NFT collection were presented: Vitalii Kulikov, Artem Volokytin, Hamlet Zinkivskyi, Olena Lisnycha, and Ihor Illinskyi. Kharkiv digital designer Bohdan Kiyas (Inst. @kiya5ura) “brought the artworks to life” in 3D, marking CityX’s first step into NFT and crypto art at an international event of this scale.

The second event — NFT Paris — took place from February 24 to 27, 2023. NFT professionals showed great interest in our project during the presentation and panel discussion. They especially appreciated the NFT version of our analog works, which complements and contributes to the development of physical art. The artists received compliments, while the event organizers proposed new ideas. NFT Paris became an important step in bridging the NFT space and convinced us that creators and brands are actively collaborating to develop digital art.

From April 11 to 14, 2023, the CityX art project was presented during a panel discussion at NFT NYC (New York) titled “Bridging the Tangible and Intangible Through NFTs”. One of the project’s founders, Asya Nikolaeva, was the official speaker representing the CityX team. All panels and round tables attracted large numbers of interested attendees.

From April 15 to 16, the “Wonder Fair” festival took place in Soho (New York), at the “Ideal Glass” Gallery — an international exhibition of NFTs and analog works. The multimedia festival was held in the heart of bohemian New York, in a district famous worldwide for its galleries. The exhibition was also accompanied by a strong parallel program: lectures, artist and curatorial talks, literary readings, concerts, and DJ sets.

Our presentation (speakers: Asya Nikolaeva and Tetyana Tumasyan, founders of CityX Foundation) generated a lively response and strong resonance — throughout the evening, people approached us with questions and words of support. The CityX team expressed its position on Ukrainian cultural heritage, Kharkiv galleries, and artists during wartime.

In parallel with the events in New York, CityX launched a two-week online auction on the OpenSea marketplace, which concluded with the successful sale of all three NFT rabbits (NFT paintings by Olena Lisnycha, Oleg Mitasov and Borys Redko, and a photo collage by Serhiy Bratkov). Proceeds from the sales were directed toward supporting Kharkiv artists, their families, and Ukrainian culture.

Cointelegraph, a leading independent digital media resource covering a wide range of news about blockchain technology, crypto assets, and emerging trends in financial technology, recognized the CityX team as pioneers of the NFT avant-garde in the art world.

https://cointelegraph.com/press-releases/mother-daughter-duo-combines-nfts-and-tangible-art-to-showcase-ukrainian-avant-garde-at-nft-nyc

https://cointelegraph.com/news/how-nfts-help-to-empower-ukrainian-artists-and-preserve-fragile-art-qa-with-cityx?fbclid=PAAaaY97GKYoDsLOejyFdlXTpagDTwTlRwMrL1BwsZBj9F0-9750T_WNQloRw

From May 17 to 21, the Volta art fair took place in New York. Volta is an international art project that has provided commercial galleries from around the world with a platform every year since 2005. According to the project’s founders, the fair is distinguished by “its hospitality and innovation”.

As part of the annual NFT NYC event held on April 5, 2024, the second unique CityX Foundation collection, “Ulive”, was presented, featuring 16 artworks by 13 young Ukrainian artists:

• Mitya Fenechkin, “ERASED” Link
• Ave, “CREATION PIPELINE” Link
• Love Curly, “SUCK MY DREAMS” Link, “TWO IN ONE” Link
• Mariia Matiienko, “HOPE” Link
• Bohdana Zaiats, “EACH SERIES” Link
• Denys Kulikov, “TRIDENT” Link, “OBSERVER” Link, “THE BIOLOGY OF LOVE” Link
• Sofiia Sulii, “MUSHLI (2 SHELLS)” Link
• Bohdan Ahafonov, “FINGERPRINT M” Link
• Oles Dereha, “DREAM” Link
• Yevheniia Vynokurova, “UNKNOWN REALITY” Link
• Mariia Maslova, “BIRTH/REBIRTH” Link
• Nadiia Heart, “IMMORTALITY” Link
• Masha Reva, “ANTICIPATION” Link

The project was curated by Yevheniia Brodska. The digital collection was created in collaboration with the Italian 3D studio Hyperlab. The soundtrack for the digital artworks was composed by DJ Koloah.

The project also featured digital and selected original physical works from the previous collection.

At the annual international fair ZⓢONAMACO MÉXICO ARTE CONTEMPORÁNEO 2025 Link in Mexico (held in Mexico City since 2003), which took place from February 5 to 9, 2025, the CityX project and partner gallery CUT ART (Riga, Latvia) Link were represented at booth EJ07. This major event became an important step in promoting contemporary Ukrainian art and an opportunity to discuss the creation of a unique artistic expression under the conditions of the largest armed conflict in recent European history.

The teams were represented by three female artists: Anna Egle, Yuliia Sylova, and Municipal Gallery artist Tetiana Malinovska (Inst. @tetiana.malinovskaa). Their artistic expression was dedicated to rethinking the concept of “freedom” through contemporary art forms.

From March 15 to May 2, the CUT ART Gallery in Riga hosted the project “Fierce Spring — Lost Spring” by Tetyana Tumasyan and Tetiana Malinovska. The project was co-authored by Cary Fukunaga, known as the showrunner of the series “True Detective”, with Hollywood actress Eva Green as a guest.

From May 8 to 11, 2025, CityX and CUT ART presented an exhibition at Art Busan 2025 (Busan, Korea) in memory of renowned American director and artist David Lynch. The exhibition featured six rare lithographs created by the artist between 2007 and 2012 from the “15/30” series. Like most of his works, the pieces presented at the exhibition have a dark and surreal character, revealing the irrationality of the depths of the subconscious.

Since its founding in 2012, Art Busan has held exhibitions and art fairs every May in one of South Korea’s largest cities. The David Lynch exhibition, presented by Tetiana Malinovska, became the first exhibition of the brilliant artist in the country. South Korean artist Shin Seung Hun was the invited artist.

In May 2026, CityX Foundation opened its doors for a special independent program during the preview week of the Venice Biennale, bringing together performance, film, digital art, discussions, music, and many unforgettable encounters.

At the Arsenale Pavilion and the Garden Pavilion (Calle dei Forni), the foundation welcomed artists, collectors, curators, partners, and friends as part of a dynamic program filled with energy, new connections, and professional exchange:

➤ “Iron Drive” — a performance and installation by renowned Ukrainian artist Serhiy Bratkov

➤ A pre-premiere screening of the documentary film “The Hammer”, dedicated to legendary auctioneer Simon de Pury, featuring special guest Simon de Pury himself

➤ The Fragile Art round table, featuring an inspiring discussion on collecting experimental art and works that expand the boundaries of artistic practice; as well as a presentation of a monograph, artworks, and a public conversation with Aysha E. Arar featuring Dvir Gallery and Mousse Publishing

➤ A presentation of digital art by CityX Foundation × ACCOMPART’S

➤ Drinks in the garden, wonderful music, and warm conversations late into the evening together with Spark Art Fair Vienna

We thank everyone who became part of these days in Venice and contributed to creating a space for art, dialogue, and new ideas.

The work of the CityX team continues. This large-scale project remains active and continues to be developed, expanded, and advanced. Following the successful presentations of the first two collections, which attracted attention across several continents, the project team is preparing a third.