Kharkiv is one of the largest cities in Ukraine, located several dozen kilometers from the front line. Due to this proximity, it remains within reach of Russian artillery and is shelled daily. Despite this, life here does not stop, and the modern music scene not only continues to form, but also develops rapidly, influencing the culture of Ukraine and gradually reaching the international level. It was here that the Kharkiv Worldwide project by the Ukrainian electronic band TYSK appeared.
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The video was created by artist Kris Voytkiv and cinematographer Alex Babenko. Kharkiv Worldwide is a visual story about key members of this community that formed near the front line. The Some People center began to develop in 2023, about 20 km from the fighting. It was here that musicians, artists, military personnel, and representatives of various subcultures gathered. This is the young underground of Kharkiv, which is formed during the war.
The team worked on the video in the winter of 2025–2026. The main goal of the project was to show a strong desire to live and create music. The focus is on young residents of Kharkiv, who are experiencing deep internal changes during the war. The video conveys this state through images, sound, and the atmosphere of the city.
On the dance floor and in the frame, things that are rarely seen together are combined. This is the hard energy of rave and the more subtle, sensitive elements of contemporary art. Together they form a statement about freedom. Kharkiv in this video appears as a city of pain, culture and strength with its own voice and character.
TYSK is a Ukrainian electronic band from Kharkiv, which unites musicians and visual artists. In their work, they reinterpret the broken electronic sound. Their music combines electro, grime and breaks with influences from the Ukrainian electronic scene and recitative. TYSK's sound is a synthesis of different styles and cultural codes.
Kris Voytkiv is a Ukrainian visual artist who works at the intersection of documentary photography, art photography, and video art. In her works, she explores intimacy, memory, and the human condition during traumatic events. She pays special attention to the topic of war and social change in Ukraine. She is also a co-founder of the volunteer association “CVIT” and works on projects that show the reality of life in Ukraine.
Alex Babenko is a documentary photographer and filmmaker from Kharkiv. He is a co-producer and cinematographer of the film “2000 Meters to Andriyivka” directed by Mstislav Chernov. For this work, he received the Screen Actors Guild Award, the George Polk Award, and was nominated for a BAFTA. Since 2022, he has been continuously documenting the Russian-Ukrainian war, working on the front lines and interacting with international media. His photographs have been published in Time, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Associated Press, and other publications.
Kharkiv Worldwide's video captures an important moment in the development of Kharkiv. It is a story about the people who stayed in the city, working, making music, and shaping modern Ukrainian culture during the war.