Vladislav Davidzon is an American-Ukrainian journalist, writer, artist, film producer, and international man of hysterical mystery, born in Tashkent and raised in Brooklyn, where he grew up among mobsters and intellectuals. A graduate of art schools and universities in New York, Paris, Brussels, and Venice, he now divides his time between teaching and reporting, and serves on the board of our campaign to present the Unsafe House at the 2026 Venice Biennale.

Davidzon worked as a producer on Sean Penn’s Ukraine war documentary Superpower, traveling with the actor and interpreting during key meetings. When Russia invaded Ukraine, Davidzon was smoking cigars with Penn and Ukraine president Zelensky in Kyiv.

In March 2022, he burned his Russian passport outside the Russian embassy in Paris, with former Estonian President Toomas Ilves lighting the match.

His ongoing artistic daybook is a rich visual diary that blends text and image into a narrative tapestry. It captures moments of reflection, and connection, including tons of namedrops and offers an intimate and ever-evolving portrait of life at the crossroads of art and politics.

Author of two books on Ukraine, Davidzon writes regularly about how he understands the world. You can subscribe to his Substack here.