Biography
Diana Klochko is a Ukrainian art critic, curator, writer and lecturer, one of the leading popularizers of the history of Ukrainian art. She is a laureate of the Yuriy Shevelyov Prize and an important figure in the cultural environment of Ukraine.
Early years and education
Diana Klochko was born in the village of Kozyn, Radyvyliv district, Rivne region, in the family of an educator and a nurse. From childhood, she was interested in art — she studied at a music school, was interested in drawing and literature. Her first piano became an important cultural event in the village, and her love for art formed a deep intellectual foundation even before entering the educational institution.
Art education and career
At 15 years old she entered the art and industrial school in Abramtsevo (Moscow Region), where she studied ceramics. However, she soon realized that her vocation was not the creation of three-dimensional forms, but the theory and history of art. Later, she moved to Petrozavodsk (Karelia), but decided to return to Ukraine to give birth to a son surrounded by her family.
After returning, she worked as an artist at a porcelain factory in the city of Berezne, and in the summer of 1986 she enrolled in art studies at the Kyiv State Art Institute. There she deeply researched Ukrainian art, which during the Soviet period was often ignored or presented as "secondary". Her diploma work entitled "Passion of Christ. Icons of Western Ukraine and the Mysterious Theater" became her first serious research step.
Influence on art history
Diana Klochko received an important influence from Professor Ludmila Milyaeva, who supervised her diploma and post-graduate work, as well as from Alexander Roitburd, whose approach to the museum as a living, emotional structure inspired her to new forms of art presentation.
Curatorial activities and museology
Diana Klochko actively works in the field of curation and museum work. She gives lectures, comments on museum transformations, studies the current state of Ukrainian museology and promotes the idea that Ukrainian museums need digitization, greater openness and inter-museum projects. She believes that the new generation of curators should change the cultural paradigm in Ukraine, and children should be involved in the museum environment, perceive it as a familiar space of life.
Literary activity
Diana Klochko is the author of numerous essays and publications, her main book has already become an event in the Ukrainian cultural space. Her works contribute to the development of Ukrainian art history and popularization of Ukrainian culture.
Klochko is actively involved in spreading the idea of engaging the viewer in a live dialogue with art, and her contribution to the development of museums and cultural activities in Ukraine is extremely important.