“Thank you for an opportunity to taste life one more time!”

Den’s Photo Exhibit enriched and expanded the cultural space of Sumy in November 2013. Thousands of Sumy residents and visitors to the regional capital made use of a chance to see works by professional and amateur photographers from all over Ukraine. All these photos have in common that unique drive, profound inner meaning, the ability to appeal to the mind and the heart alike, strike a chord and force people to start thinking. “We had too many visitors at this exhibition to be able to give precise figures,” administrator of the municipal Sumy Promotion Agency which provided its gallery as the venue Aliona Opanasiuk told us. “We saw mostly older people, pensioners coming in the morning, schoolchildren and students in the afternoon, and couples in love in the evening hours.”

According to Opanasiuk, visitors invariably remarked on how extremely varied topics of the works on display were, ranging from sweet, joyful, and sunny pictures of children to painful insights into old age, poverty, suffering, gray hopelessness and lost illusions. Photos depicting politicians were a category of their own, causing most heated debate, sometimes even between strangers. Ruslan Kaniuka’s Financial Aces was undoubtedly the most discussed one. The audience award went to Mykola Tymchenko’s Love Overcomes Everything, with Volodymyr Mishchenko’s The Birth of Miracle and Maksym Liukov’s Playoff finishing second and third, respectively.

Den’s Photo Exhibition’s guest book contains hundreds of entries, including emotional descriptions of people’s impressions as well as short but eloquent “Oh!” and, of course, lines of exclamation marks, speaking for themselves.

Even as the exhibition was being wrapped up on December 4, it still had visitors coming. One of them caught my attention, looking like a quintessential elderly Ukrainian villager, sporting a gray beard and dressed very simply, but he greeted me in English, and introduced himself as Bill Alexander, a Scot. His next words got me looking at him with eyes wide open, as Alexander said: “I traveled 4,000 kilometers to see this exhibition.” It turned out he had learned about Den’s Photo Exhibit from his Kyivan friend who had been very impressed and advised him to go and see it, too. Alexander caught up with the exhibition only in Sumy, and even then on its last day. When asked about his impressions, he just replied “I am short of words.” He is an amateur photographer himself, but admitted the exhibits were far above his current level. Alexander was in Ukraine before, as he travels a lot in his retirement. Ukrainians impressed him as people who know and appreciate their history and are proud of their origin, very similar to the Scots.

And finally, a few lines from the guest book:

Femii Mustafaiev, People’s Artist of Ukraine: “My sincere thanks go to the editor-in-chief Larysa Ivshyna and Den’s creative team for a wonderful day spent at the exhibition. Your newspaper is a mirror of Ukraine! I surely will visit your next photo exhibition next year. Good luck!”

Alla Doroha, a professor at Drahomanov National Pedagogical University: “Thank you for an opportunity to stop, look around, smile, think, wonder, once again get a taste for life, and recognize the depth, complexity, and diversity of the environment we live in. I wish health, good luck, and inspiration to Den’s team, photographers, and all those involved in organizing the exhibition!”

Oleh Vaida from Kryvy-on-San, Western Boiko Land: “Thank you, Den, for the photo exhibition. Your newspaper is synonymous with Ukrainian high culture. Thank you for being with us.”

Olia Holodova from Kovel: “Thank you for my emotions! I cried and laughed, and had goose bumps... Thank you for your great work. You put together all life of the Ukrainian people in this exhibition.”

Olena: “To understand one’s soul, just look into their eyes; to understand the soul of Ukraine, it is necessary to look at the photos that Den brought here. Thank you for such a wonderful tour of Ukrainian hearts!”

Natalia Tsybulska: “The exhibition is positive, emotional, humorous, loving, lyrical, philosophical, and realizing everyday truths. I was also pleased to find Sumy residents among its participants! I wish you prosperity and further victories as well as creative relationships!”