Two public discussions, 10 days of exhibition, 200 photos, hundreds of visitors, and more than three hundred new books in school libraries... Newspaper Den has brought to citizens of Odesa an opportunity to debate on rethinking modern history and to review it through the lens of the best photographers from all over the country. And through charity, over 120 schools have been supplied with intelligent books from Den’s Library. “I am subscribed to Den and reading it regularly. My favorite saying in the classroom is ‘intelligence is part of your style’! A while ago I bought the book The Power of the Soft Sign, and all my friends had read it. I am a teacher, and I think that members of our profession have to deliver the truth to the children,” said a teacher of one of the schools to Den. “And now the students of our school will take this truth from the books you published. In addition, I used to buy Route No.1 and cut photos from it for the wall newspaper called Signs of Time in the lobby of the school; thus our students know the faces of military heroes, who are depicted on the exhibition’s photographs...”
The visitors were also able to vote for the best photo. The winner of the Odesa Audience Award was the picture Daddy Goes to War by Anna Chapala. By the way, this photo also won the public vote at Kyiv’s exhibition past autumn. Four photographs were runners-up in Odesa, with the same number of votes. They are the following works: Day of Retreat from Debaltseve by Oleksandr Klymenko; Dream. Pisky, June 2015 by Olena Yakymovych; Thriller. Minsk 2 by Mykola Lazarenko; and Real Apocalypse by Serhii Hudak. It was difficult for many guests to single out a photo, for the photographs are very different: they depict war and peace, pain and joy, disappointment and hope.
“HAD THE PHOTO EXHIBITION BEEN EXPORTED TO THE NETHERLANDS, THEY WOULD NO LONGER HESITATE ABOUT THE REFERENDUM”
Halyna SULYMA, actress and Den’s friend, said at the meeting with Den’s journalists that the newspaper’s projects, the photo exhibition in particular, are essential for Odesa. “The exhibition’s opening had many people as visitors, especially young ones. When young people become interested in such events, it means that the city lives and develops; it means that Odesa is Ukraine. I always read with great interest the writings of Larysa Ivshyna. She is very honest, open person and a very beautiful woman. I believe that a woman can be beautiful only when she envies no one, when she lives in love and cares for her job. This all can absolutely be applied to Ms. Larysa,” said Sulyma. “I would like to have these meetings more frequent, because I believe that Den is the only newspaper to have remained truthful. When you read, you believe that journalists got it right. And credibility to a media is a rarity now. Personally, my day begins with Den.”
Sulyma also shared her impressions of Den-2015 Photo Exhibition: “This exhibition is for me a model of newspaper Den. It has a stable backbone – honest and direct. But the muscles change every time – there are new photos each year. From them I read the history of my beloved country. All the photos are acute, striking. It would have been better if we had no war, and the exhibition would have been dedicated to love, spring, and joy. But what can be done when such things happen in the country,” said Sulyma. “I, as president of the International Association for Development of Ukrainian culture, speak a lot with our diaspora. And that’s why I think that had Den-2015 Photo Exhibition been exported to the Netherlands, they would no longer hesitate about the referendum.”
“I AM READING IT AND WILL CONTINUE!”
Throughout the time of display, the exhibition collected three dozens of impressions from residents of Odesa, and the city’s guests. Visitors shared their emotions, and expressed best wishes for the newspaper, which they would like to see in Odessa newspaper kiosks. Olha ZINCHENKO, deputy head of an NGO “Dzhura Youth Club,” wrote that she came from the capital to see the exhibition: “I visited your exhibition today, having arrived from Kyiv. It is powerful. Truthful. Compelling – as an evidence that our war for independence from Russia is fair and, undoubtedly, victorious.”
Another visitor admitted that he had long waited for the photo exhibition to visit his hometown: “I followed the schedule in order not to miss it – and finally, Den is here! I examined every artwork very carefully. Choosing the best one is very difficult, because each of them is unmatched: every photo reveals and reflects our present reality, raises questions over life, country, and state, and asks for conclusions to be made,” wrote Roman STOROZHUK. “Thank you, Den, that you exist, and thank you for the hard and necessary work. I am reading it and I will continue!”
“EVERYTHING THE COUNTRY HAD LIVED BY IS GATHERED HERE”
Iryna STEPANOVA from Odesa visited Den’s Photo Exhibition for the first time, although she heard about this project before. “I really liked the exhibition. It gathered everything the country lived by for the past time. These photos reveal emotions going through each one of us: tears of joy and tears of sadness. Thanks to Den for the opportunity to remember and relive these moments again,” said Iryna. “I knew that the exhibition will have a vote for the best photo, and when I came here, I thought that there would be a photo I can easily choose. But it is difficult for me to single out one photo. I was most touched by photo entitled Day of Retreat from Debaltseve. It depicts coffins with the people who fought in the city. Speaking about the positive pictures, the one I liked the most is a photo of a lifeguard, who is throwing a lifeline elegantly. It shows strength, capable of defending you, and a peculiar grace.”
“THIS IS OUR REALITY NO ONE WANTS TO SEE”
“I have already made my choice. At the beginning of the exhibition, there is a photo taken during a mortar attack. It shows a little girl standing in the window. This photograph sunk into my soul. Probably because war affects children the most,” said Olena, a visitor. “A project is very interesting. This is our reality no one wants to see. Especially the photos related to war. One wants to throw it out of their head, to stop thinking about it, to live in a peaceful world. But then you look at these pictures and you realize: this is our world, our reality, no matter how sad it is. I would like to have the photos from 2016 more joyful and fun. I want to see smiling faces – but not just depicted at an exhibition, I want them to be my reality. Let’s see how life will unfold. At least, one can always hope for the best.”
“WE SEE A WAY OUT”
On two opposite walls of the museum there are two photos, dedicated to fires, which are devastating to the environment. Real Apocalypse by Serhii Hudak shows a fire in the suburb of Uzhhorod. In the center of the photo there are two storks, surrounded by fire. A shot by Oleh Tereshchenko, Fire of Corruption was made in June past year, during the fire in the oil depot in Vasylkiv raion. Smoke has covered the entire frame, and a white stork flies through it. These photos were the most striking for Ihor and Tetiana from Odesa, who came to Odesa Museum of Occidental and Oriental Art shortly before the exhibition’s closing.
Real Apocalypse is a distinct negative. Fire of Corruption shows a hope that emerges from it. Perhaps these photos have been placed opposite one another by accident, but when we look at one first, and then to the other, we see a way out,” said Ihor, nodding approvingly at the photographs.
Odesa had been the fifth city after Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk to have hosted Den’s Days. Next, we will follow the intelligent route to Lutsk: the opening of the display for best pictures from Den’s International Photo Contest will take place at the library of Lesia Ukrainka Eastern European University, on April 8 at 12:00; the discussion with Larysa Ivshyna, open to students and general audience will take place at 13:00.
