“What you need on a cold winter’s day,” or 200 photo masterpieces

This is by no means the newspaper’s first cultural event held at the Museum of Ukrainian Painting, the best exhibition platform in Dnipro. Last year and the year before last, thousands of the residents of the city and the region visited Den’s large-scale photo exhibit – educators, school and college students, cultural figures and intellectuals, and those who are simply not indifferent to photo art, Ukrainian history and culture. They could all derive pleasure from photographs taken by experienced masters and talented amateurs who show today’s Ukraine and its people in their little photo masterpieces.

This year 200 best pictures of the Den’s 19th International Photo Competition will be displayed in Dnipro. The year 2017 was particular in that many photographers sent the whole series of works – from essays to photo dramas. For example, Yurii Velychko from the village of Molodizhne, Dnipropetrovsk oblast, who participates in the photo contest for a second time, presented three cycles: “Front-Line Winter,” “Fusion,” and “Ascension.” The last two are dedicated to Oleksandr Sarabun and Anatolii Horbenko, his comrades-in-arms in the 46th Detached Special-Purpose Battalion “Donbas-Ukraine.” They were seriously wounded in the line of duty but managed not only to return to a full-fledged life, but also charge us with optimism and faith in our own strength. There are a lot of such emotional and talented pictures at the exhibit – you ought to see it with your own eyes to feel the pulse of our difficult but heroic time.

Every year, our editorial board assigns a general leitmotif name to the monitoring of the most important events. In the case of the Den Photo Exhibit 2017 it was “Photo Synthesis.” The world “photosynthesis” has a profound sense. “Sun rays penetrate into the chlorophyll of plants and, in the reaction with carbon dioxide and water, produce every living thing. It is really the greatest wonder of creation. Life on Earth would be impossible without this,” Den’s editor-in-chief Larysa IVSHYNA says. “So an exhibition-photosynthesis helps fight ‘social avitaminosis’ and synthesizes joy and energy. We are interested in everything that produces ‘oxygen’ for society. And we are ‘discovering’ this view.”

“We are looking forward to the opening of the Den Photo Exhibit. It is undoubtedly a symbolic event for the cultural life of our city and museum. Last year thousands of people visited the photo exhibit, which also raises our rating. The quality of photographs we saw is impressive. This concerns not only the technique of photography but, above all, the emotional and psychological component. We hope that the Den photo exhibit’s popularity will be on the rise and there will be still more visitors,” Museum of Ukrainian Painting director Serhii BURBELO says, sharing his expectations.

As usual, the format of Den’s Days provides for not only watching photographs, but also a meaningful and interesting communication. On January 19, at 2 p.m., the Museum of Ukrainian Painting will host a meeting of Den’s editor-in-chief Larysa Ivshyna with the “live” community of Dnipro. As part of the dialog, The Crown, or Heritage of the Rus’ Kingdom, a new book of the Den’s Library which has already become a bestseller, will be presented. Incidentally, Ms. Ivshyna will have a tight media schedule. So please follow our announcements on the Facebook page.

The 19th International Photo Exhibit Den-2017 will be ceremoniously opened at the Museum of Ukrainian Painting on January 19 at 4 p.m. The distinguished guests are expected to include Dnipro Mayor Borys FALATOV who is making a lot of efforts to turn the city into a cultural capital of Ukraine. In his opinion, this kind of cultural events should be spotlight of the local community. “I invite city residents to visit the 19th International Photo Exhibit Den-2017,” Filatov says. “You can see all the major events of the past year on the pictures of talented photographers from all over the country. This project is a welcome guest in Dnipro for a third consecutive year. These photos are really what you need on a cold winter’s day. Be sure to come with your relatives and friends. Also, by tradition, we will hand over the Den Library’s historical books to our libraries and schools. It is gratifying that Dnipro continues the tradition of ‘humanitarian records’ established two years ago.” This year educational institutions and libraries will receive a thousand copies of our Crown…!

Incidentally, you can also acquire our Library’s books and Route No. 1 magazine during the exhibition, as well as subscribe to Den/The Day.

So we are waiting for you on January 19, at 2 p.m., on the third floor of the Museum of Ukrainian Painting (5a, Troitska Square). The exhibit will remain open until February 2. Admission is free.