“A good friend of mine has invited me to the photo exhibition of Den newspaper. I arrived on a snowy day and saw pictures on the walls, people watching and walking around... it’s an exhibition after all! I take a step closer and then, in a few minutes, I understand that those are not just photos, they are windows! Each photo is a window into someone’s fate, into another dimension...” speaks Tetiana Zaparia, army support volunteer, as she recalls the past year’s photo exhibition in Dnipro. “Here, in this window, are child’s eyes full of hope and fear. And there, in another one – a man in a uniform kneels on a winter field, respectfully stroking the wheat with his hand. An agronomist in a military uniform... there’s war... Those windows, too, have war in them, and there are portraits of corrupt butchers, who are feeding that war... and some other windows show faith, belief, and confidence that we are unbreakable... And after you exit the exhibition, full of emotions, you go down the street of a large, peaceful city and understand: this is not just Den’s exhibition, it is different days collected in one. Happy days, days full of pain, fear, faith, and hopelessness, days of pride, Ukrainian days – all the real ones...”
Photos of the 2016’s contest are no less deep and emotional, according to numerous reviews in Kyiv and Sumy, the citizens of which have already acquainted with the photo exhibition. “So, Den’s exhibition is like a separate dimension in which you get into, and then everything there is in a human soul trembles. And tears of pain or sincerity are shed by girls and serious men alike... I would like to have such ‘separate dimensions’ in every city, town, and village. Sometimes a photograph, the light of such a window, might affect what is hidden very deep in one’s heart, so deep that it hasn’t been dug out for years... Let it be Den full of happy days,” continues Zaparia.
This Friday at 5 p.m. we invite citizens of Dnipro to the Museum of Ukrainian art for the grand opening of the exhibition of the 18th Den’s International Photo Contest’s best photos, which will be attended by Larysa Ivshyna, Den’s editor-in-chief. The purpose of the exhibition is to show Ukrainians their country and the events she lived through recently, in the photo reports taken by professional photographers of Den and amateur photographers from all over Ukraine. Dmytro Povorotnyi, priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyiv Patriarchate, is convinced: “Den’s photo exhibitions tell of time and human. I think they are interesting and understandable not only for us, Ukrainians, but also for the ‘external’ audience. The works show, what Ukraine is living through now – her routine and her tragedy, her secrets and her openness. Faces of people, landscapes, and emotions – one time we will look at these photos to remember ourselves and tell our children. And when we will be gone, these still moments will show us to our descendants – our life in its full pace and diversity.”
At 6 p.m., after the opening ceremony, the editor-in-chief will have a discussion with the local community on “National Dialog” and host the presentation of new books from the Den’s Library series.
The main partner of the Den’s Days in Dnipro remains the same as the past year – Dnipro City Council; past year it has established a “humanitarian record” in providing the education community with the intellectual “weapon” made by our newspaper. This year, thanks to the assistance of local authorities and personally Mayor Borys Filatov, every school in Dnipro – namely 162 – and all 38 libraries are going to receive gifts: the sets of books from Den’s Library and the annual subscription to our newspaper. Thus Dnipro joins the grand sponsor marathon of Ukrainian cities – the “Donate Den’s Library Books to Your Old School” campaign.
We are waiting for everyone to see actual image of the country’s life and contribute to the national dialog on February 10 at 5 p.m. at 5a, Troitska Square (2nd floor).
Den’s Photo Exhibition at the Museum of Ukrainian Painting will last through February 19, every day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. except Monday and Tuesday. The entrance is free.
