Anastasia Piliavsky

Anthropologist and political analyst, Founder of Cosmopolis and Reader in Anthropology & Politics at King’s College London. She lives in Cambridge & Odessa.

Maya Dimerli

Writer, poet and literary translator. Founding Member of Cosmopolis and Head of the Odesa UNESCO City of Literature office. She lives in Odessa.

Kateryna Mikheitseva

Philosopher, curator and Lecturer in Philosophy at the Odessa International Humanities University. She lives in Odessa.

Ilya Kaminsky

Poet and essayist, named by the BBC as one of "12 artists that changed the world." Professor of Literature at Princeton University. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

Sir Christopher Clark

Historian of Europe, Regius Professor of History at the University of Cambridge, author of Iron Kingdom and The Sleepwalkers. Knighted in 2015 for his services to Anglo-German relations. He is also a popular TV presenter, known for documentaries such as Deutschland Saga, Planet of Treasures and The Story of Europe. He lives in Cambridge.

Thomas de Waal

Expert in the Caucuses, Odessa and post-Soviet conflicts, descendant of Odessa’s Ephrussi family. He lives in London.

Ulrich Schreiber

Writer, cultural manager, founder of the International Literature Festival Berlin, co-founder of the Odessa International Literature Festival, CEO of Bebelplatz, co-founder of PEN Berlin, and Chevalier of the French Order of Arts and Letters.

Alexey Botvinov

Alexey Botvinov is a Ukrainian pianist and People’s Artist of Ukraine, internationally acclaimed as one of the finest interpreters of Rachmaninoff, the founder of the Odessa Classics Festival, a Knight of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. He lives in Zurich.

John Dunn

Professor Emeritus of Political Theory in Cambridge, scholar of John Locke and democracy, founder of the Cambridge School. Author of The Political Thought of John Locke and Setting the People Free. He lives in Cambridge.

Dame Caroline Humphrey

One of Britain’s leading anthropologists and Professor Emerita at the University of Cambridge. She lives in Cambridge.

Mikhail Reva

Ukrainian artist, sculptor and architect, Honored Artist of Ukraine, creator of several public statues in Odessa and across Ukraine. He lives in Odessa.

Gennady Druzenko

Ukrainian lawyer and founding President of the First Volunteer Mobile Hospital. Veteran of the Russo-Ukrainian war, now back in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He lives in Kyiv, when not on the front.

Boris Barsky

Poet, comedian, theatre director; founding director of the Maski Theatre and the House of Clowns. People’s Artist of Ukraine. Member of the Union of Cinematographers and the Union of Theatre Workers of Ukraine. Academician of the International Academy of Fools in Paris. He lives in Odessa

Yurii Dikyi

Pianist, Professor Emeritus at the Odesa National Academy of Music, Head of the Oistrakh and Richter Mission. He lives in Odessa.

Alexander Onishchenko

Director of the Theatre on Chainaya, theatre actor and director. He lives in Odessa.

Heorhii Kasianov

Historian of Ukraine, head of the Laboratory of International Memory Studies at the Marie Curie-Sklodowska University, former Head of the Department of Modern History and Politics at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Kyiv. He lives in Lublin.

Eugene Demenok

Writer, founder of the Green Lamp literary society in Odessa, art historian and collector, specialist in Ukrainian Avantgarde, and Ambassador of Odesa in Czech Republic. He lives in Prague.

Vitaly Oplachko

Explorer, photographer, art collector and entrepreneur; founder of the Odessa Free University. He lives in Odessa.

Ugo Poletti

Poet, comedian, theatre director; founding director of the Maski Theatre and the House of Clowns. People’s Artist of Ukraine. Member of the Union of Cinematographers and the Union of Theatre Workers of Ukraine. Academician of the International Academy of Fools in Paris. He lives in Odessa

Eva Neymann

Filmmaker, director of numerous features and documentaries, including "Privoz" and "When Lightning Flashes Over the Sea," about Odessa. She lives in Berlin & Odessa.

Alexander Morrison

Historian of colonial warfare, specialising in Russian imperial conquest, and Kazakhstan. Fellow and Tutor in History, New College Oxford. He lives in Oxford.

Vladislav Vodko

Historian, teacher and lecturer at the South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University. He lives in Alexandria & Odessa.

Kateryna Biletina

Award-winning artist, portraitist, leader of Odessa’s neo-realist movement, lecturer at the South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University. She lives in Odessa.

Antonina Poletti

Director of The Odessa Journal. She runs our Odessa to the World programme and lives in Odessa.

Patrick Wack

Photographer, who has worked in China and around the Black Sea, publishing in the world's top broadsheets, from the Wall Street Journal to the New York Times. He is author of photography books Dust and Azov Horizons. He lives in Paris.

Inna Holubovych

Professor of Philosophy at the Odesa Mechnikov National University. She lives in Odessa.

Taras Fedirko

Political and economic anthropologist of Ukraine, Lecturer at the University of Glasgow, Senior Research Fellow at the IWM Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. He lives in St Andrews & Vienna.

Illia Chedoluma

Intellectual historian of Ukraine and public intellectual. He lives in Kyiv.

Oleg Suslov

Chief Editor of Odessa's oldest daily, The Evening Odesa. He lives in Odessa.

Roman Morgenstern

Corresponding member of the Transport Academy of Ukraine. He lives in Odessa.

Borys Tynka

Writer, historian, tour guide and lover of Odessa, Honorary Ambassador of Odesa in Poland, member of the Ukrainian Guides Association. He lives in Krakow & Odessa.

Kateryna Bezpalova

Philologist, interpreter and Associate Professor at the Odesa I.I.Mechnikov National University. She lives in Odessa.

Mikhail Son

Poet and biologist, Fellow of the Institute of Marine Biology at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. He lives in Odessa.

Serge Poliakov

Photographer and curator of the Okno Gallery. He lives in Odessa.

Olga Engibarova

Photographer. She lives in Odessa.

Benjamin Zachariah

Historian, pianist, Fellow of The Einstein Forum, author most recently of The Postcolonial Volk. He lives in Berlin.

Pavlo Maiboroda

Historian of antiquity and history teacher, founder of the “Underground” free space. He lives in Odessa.

Peter Culshaw

Composer and musical critic, who first brought international attention to Ukraine's Dakha Brakha collective. Lover of Odessa. He lives in London.

Greta Grape

Journalist JADU at the Goethe-Institut, Co-founder & CEO в On The Raft / Sur Le Radeau. She lives in Paris.

Cyrill Lipatov

Art historian, anthropologist and curator. He lives in Odessa & Berlin.

Valentin Piliavsky

Architect and Odessa's architectural historian, author of The Architecture of Odessa. He lives in Boston, USA.

Anna Misyuk

Historian of Odessa. She lives in Israel and Odessa.

Olexandra Valchuk

Graphic artist and printmaker. She lives in Odessa.

Olga Kozorovytska

Lawyer and civil society activist. She lives in Odessa.

Olga Yarovaya

Collage and mixed-media artist, and mosaicist . She lives in Odessa.