Exhibitions "Contemporary Ukrainian Photography" Kyiv, Ukraine, 2024

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According to curators Dmytro Bogachuk https://dimitribogachuk.com/ and Raed Bawayah, the exhibition in Kyiv will be the first event in a world tour that will cover Basel, Paris, Vienna, Arles, New York, and other cities.

The war that struck Ukraine two years ago has impacted all aspects of life, including visual art. It has permeated the visual space, from social media to galleries, festivals, and even museums. Photography has become not just a document of events, but also a way to express the trauma and devastation experienced by our society.

However, the photography that will be presented at the exhibition aims to testify, contextualize, and foster a different understanding of reality, condemning human injustice and the arrogance of beauty and aesthetics. Such conflicts also create a strong need for expression, leading to innovation and unrestricted artistic creativity to overcome both the horrors of war and the daily hardships it brings.

Contemporary creative Ukrainian photography can become a social refuge in such circumstances, but above all, it is a way to celebrate the beauty of the world. Photography has two faces: it can be a means of cultural resistance or a tool for building bridges between people.

The exhibition in Kyiv is the first part of the world tour of the book “100 Contemporary Ukrainian Photographers” by the French publisher. The role of Form.Paris as an artistic institution is to support and assist artists in bringing their projects to life in sometimes unstable creative conditions. The book brings together the works of about a hundred contemporary Ukrainian photographers, who live in their country or in the diaspora. The approximately 400 images contained in the book form a mosaic, harmonious in its diversity. A large portion of the works included in the publication will be displayed at the exhibition.

“The selection of works by photographers chosen for this project is based on a dual observation: on the one hand, highlighting the visual harmony common to them, and on the other hand, the interaction between these works as numerous strokes of color on an artist’s palette. We had the honor and pleasure of collaborating with these artists to create this project,” say curators Dmytro Bogachuk and Raed Bawayah.

Contemporary Ukrainian Photography