"Negative Resurfacing": a volunteer and anti-Russian project

Recently, Kyiv hosted Event Maker, the first professional event dedicated to the event business since the beginning of the war in Ukraine and the first offline meeting of major market players since then, UNN reports.

They discussed topics of concern to all industry participants. Such as rebooting the industry, finding ways to overcome new challenges, peculiarities of organizing events during the war, etc. Speakers shared their experience in finding new business models and strategies for event business development, approaches to risk management and insurance, dealing with force majeure that has become commonplace, marketing wartime events, and finding budgeting.

The case of Alexey Kulikov, one of the most prominent producers of corporate events in Ukraine, founder of the full-service event agency Ant  Hill, who organized the show "Negative Surfacing" at VDNKh in 2023 with his team, was interesting and inspiring. 

"April 14 marks the anniversary of the sinking of the cruiser Moskva. Why is this event important? Why did the Ant  Hill team spend money, and most importantly, time, to create this project? After all, we could have organized a collection or held a series of auctions and thus contributed to the victory," Kulikov reflects.

Oleksiy said that the project "Negative Resurfacing" was special from the very beginning. For example, there was no client, as is usual in agency projects, as the idea belonged to the Ant Hill and BrainTank teams. The idea arose from the news that the Moscow cruiser, which sank near Odesa, was included in the register of objects of cultural value in Ukraine. It became number 2064 in the register of underwater cultural heritage. 

"For me, this is a big story with many layers and meanings," explained Oleksiy. He said: "First, it is a very big victory. This is the largest ship sunk in 80 years worldwide. Secondly, it is a great metaphor. 

"Russian ship, go f*** yourself!" - what does this phrase mean? This is the phrase of a man who was not afraid of a 200-meter-long machine and fought back. This phrase has become international. Now it can be heard at strikes, rallies, and protests.

The team wanted to rethink this phenomenon, to show this story from a different perspective. This is how the project "Negative Resurfacing" was born. 

The project was created in partnership with the National Naval Museum of Ukraine, which registered the object in its funds and received an expert opinion. To ensure full immersion, we decided to use a 270-degree screen, involve circular projection, special effects, and picked a pace. It was difficult because all 22 minutes of the show are dedicated to one event, and we had to find a way to keep the viewer's attention. 

When I think about why this particular project has become so popular among Ukrainians, I explain to myself that we have essentially created a small patriotic movie. For 300 years of the Russian invasion and Russian propaganda, our people have been diligently "loaded" with stories about the defeats of Ukrainians. We simply did not have any patriotic films where we won. This does not mean that there are no such stories, but unfortunately, they are not a brand, and they have not remained in the minds of the average Ukrainian. But the feeling of victory is the most important thing. When you know what it's like to win, when you have this feeling, it's much easier to realize your dreams. That's why culture is important. Because it gives us answers as to why we can do things this way and not that way, gives us an understanding of right and wrong, gives us confidence that we can win.

And the story of the cruiser Moskva is not only about how we miraculously sank a huge ship with two missiles that, according to the technical characteristics, could not have done it, but also about how we won morally. 

The project "Negative Resurfacing" aims not only to commemorate a historical event, but also to form a clear national identity and counter Russian influence. Some may argue that this approach is not effective or even appropriate, but the results in terms of numbers show otherwise.

These figures are impressive: the project received more than 24,000,0000 media contacts, and all the top TV channels in Ukraine and many other countries talked about The Unfortunate Resurfacing.

The essence of this project lies in its ability to evoke an emotional response, inspire and change consciousness. Ukrainian culture needs a new narrative that will support belief in itself and its capabilities. "Negative Resurfacing" is a step in this direction, providing the public not only with information but also with new emotional and cultural experiences.

Thus, the story of the sinking of the cruiser Moskva turned out to be not just an ordinary naval battle, but a symbol of resilience, will, and victory. That is why the phrase "The Russian warship went down..." has such a powerful impact on the cultural code of Ukraine. The project recreates these emotions through advanced technologies and creative approaches, allowing viewers to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of victory and national pride.

And this is also a story about leveling the enemy's propaganda through a simple but extremely effective method - dotting the I's. All the power of the enemy's military and propaganda  machine was personified in this cruiser. However, the unsinkable killer of aircraft carriers was killed by two missiles - the Moskva was burned and sank.  Thus, "The Negative Resurfacing" becomes not only a historical film, but also an act of resistance to propaganda and a symbol of national unity.

The project "The Unfortunate Resurfacing" turned out to be not just a simple historical reconstruction, but a manifesto of contemporary Ukrainian culture. Its success confirms that Ukrainian society is capable of turning its history into a source of inspiration and self-expression. I consider this not just a project, but our contribution to the fight for our freedom. 

We are not going to rest on our laurels. We have plans for the future, and we are confident that we will create many more interesting and important projects that will help us win Ukraine's victory.

Some numbers:       - 180 days of full-time involvement in the production of the film or 12,960 man-hours

• 8000 visitors
• 800 square meters of construction
• 270 degrees of immersion
• 24 meters of screen
• more than 24,000,0000 media contacts (all top TV channels in Ukraine)
• 14 thefts of the Black Sea shark board

Partners of the forum Event Maker: LIVESTREAM, Botsband, Taptiq, Bashnya Advertising House, Futbolka.ua, Spraga, Gifty, Ukraflora, Backstage.space, Pravda, Franz Audio, Extravaganza, RegToEvent, Special, AO decor studio, Poparada, Ol.factoty

Media partners: UNN, Business Capital, Evening Kyiv, mind.ua, marketer.ua, womo.ua, Kyiv 24, 44.ua

General partner: robota.ua