Ukrainian singer Nata Zhizhchenko, known by her stage name ONUKA, has finally become the owner of a physical copy of the prestigious Emmy television award. The award, which in 2024 was given to the Ukrainian episode of British journalist Ian Grant's documentary project Culture Quest, arrived in Ukraine accompanied by the musicians of the band Dakhnuyi Brahy. The artist shared this in a new video posted to her Instagram account, where she showed the statue and explained exactly where she decided to keep it.
Why the Award Ended Up in Chernihiv
Instead of taking the Emmy home or displaying it in a concert hall, ONUKA decided to send the statue to Chernihiv — to her grandfather's workshop, located at 12 Fabrychna Street. For the singer, this place holds deep personal significance: it was here, in September 2022, in the first months of the full-scale war, that filming of a significant part of the Ukrainian episode of Culture Quest took place. Thus, the award returned to the very place where the story that gained international recognition was created.
ONUKA's Role in the Culture Quest Project
The Ukrainian episode of the documentary series Culture Quest was dedicated to the cultural life of Chernihiv and to the people who continued to work, create, and resist through art despite the war. ONUKA served as the producer of the Ukrainian episode: she helped the filming team get acquainted with local volunteers and community organizations, and personally showed them around the city. The footage captures the atmosphere of a city where cultural life did not cease even under conditions of active combat.
Award Category and Year
The Ukrainian episode of Culture Quest was honored with an Emmy in the Outstanding Daytime Special category in 2024. This is one of the most famous television awards in the world, and a Ukrainian documentary project receiving it became a symbolic recognition that culture and creativity remain a tool of resistance even in wartime. The statue, brought to Ukraine by the musicians of Dakhnuyi Brahy, became a physical confirmation of this recognition.
The Atmosphere of September 2022 on Screen
In talking about how she re-watches the filming footage, ONUKA admitted that for her it is a particularly interesting experience. In her words, in September 2022 Ukrainians were living in anticipation of a counteroffensive, and a strong emotional uplift could be felt all around. The documentary project preserved this atmosphere — both the manifestations of Ukrainian cultural resistance and the hope that then dominated in society. For the singer, the decision to bring the Emmy specifically to her grandfather's workshop became a kind of symbol: just a few years earlier, she could hardly have imagined that an ordinary space in Chernihiv would become the filming location for a project that would later receive one of the most famous television awards in the world.
