In 2011 the European Culture Foundation, Ukrainian Network of Culture, “Center for Cultural Management” NGO (Lviv, Ukraine) offered to Ukraine to create art guide books in 7 cities on competitive base. Kyiv, Donetsk, Lviv, Kharkiv, Odessa, Ivano-Frankovsk and Kherson became the cities-winners.

The TOTEM Center of Youth Initiatives created an art guide book for Kherson. Over 50 authors contributed filling it with the content donating pictures, illustrations and texts.

It is not an ordinary guide book. It is an alphabet for those who want to understand the secret of a special charm of Kherson.

The guide book is built by the principle of the alphabet of concepts and phenomena. Kherson inhabitants got used and even don’t notice some of these interesting things. At the same time Kherson is a very colorful city for foreign guests therefore the art guide book was translated into English.

Kherson became the first city which prepared the art guide book. The presentation was unusual as well as the edition. It took place on the eve of City Day on the roof of Kherson City Administration. The authors of the guide book, journalists and the city major took part in the presentation. This event was the first (and possibly the last) public event on this roof which was specially opened for the presentation that day.