“Society in search of itself…”

It is not unusual to encounter a person with a camera on an exhibition – or at least a person with a smartphone, capable of taking pictures. Modern gadgets provide a perfect opportunity to share visual experience with friends and relatives – and even encourage them to visit the exhibition afterwards. Long before the official Den’s Photo Exhibition opening ceremony, the library of Lesia Ukrainka Eastern European National University (EENU) had been crowded. In fact, the crowds had been so numerous that people who came later had little time to linger before an emotion-stirring photo – they had to make room for the others who wanted to take a look. In Lutsk, and in Volyn in general, you don’t need to tell people about the largest in scale Den’s project – as the Photo Exhibition visited these places, perhaps, more times than any other in Ukraine. Lesia Ukrainka Eastern European National University is a long-time Den’s partner, and Larysa Ivshyna, Den’s editor-in-chief, has been a member of University’s board for many years. Volynians eagerly anticipate the annual tours of the Photo Exhibition, the live meetings with Ivshyna and the presentation of Den’s latest books.

And here Den, both as a newspaper and as a founder of many interesting projects across the years, is respected. Thus, Mykola Romaniuk, city mayor of Lutsk, announced at Den’s Days opening ceremony that every city library will order the Klara Gudzyk’s Apocrypha, and Ukraine Incognita will be purchased for every school in Lutsk. Iryna Konstankevych, doctoral candidate of Lesia Ukrainka EENU and deputy chairman of Ihor Palytsia New Lutsk foundation, calls the conversation with Ivshyna “a spiritual feast, a celebration of communion for a thinking audience.” “The founder of our foundation as well as any of its employees knows the price of Den’s achievements, thus we always express our support to the newspaper and its editor-in-chief personally,” said Konstankevych at the opening ceremony. “The books and the newspaper have to be available for a broader public, as they give the recipes to look for in the past that will help us win in the future. And the important function of education has to be noted as well. That’s why New Lutsk foundation purchased Ukraine Incognita. TOP 25 for every school library in Lutsk and subscribed the military hospital and rehabilitation hospital to the Den newspaper.”

Interestingly, not only cameras and smartphones were constantly flashing at the display – many visitors carried pens and notebooks, taking notes not only on the names of the pictures, but also on their impressions and emotions. It turned out that the students of EENU’s Pedagogical Institute were writing a mini-essay on the Den’s Photo Exhibition! Oksana Bartkiv, deputy dean of the institute, says that she has been visiting the exhibitions together with her students for as long as seven years – and she considers them to be a good opportunity for learning something new, expanding the outlook and growing spiritually. And personal impressions are very important, because they encourage reflection – thus the students were tasked with a mini-essay. The students she brought here are future social workers, who will eventually have to carry out the educational work by themselves – and that’s what they are learning at Den’s exhibitions.

“On the one hand, it looked like we had our own state. But there are pictures that show – perhaps it was only an imitation of a state. The crisis we are facing now is a logical aftermath of such an imitation. And the inception of what was soon to become the true Ukrainian state had been happening at the same time nearby – and I am certain of the viability of this new state; it is something we must support and protect,” said Ivshyna at the opening ceremony of Den’s Photo Exhibition in Lutsk.

There are two pictures to confirm her words. The first has been replicated many times – Lionka the Politician, a winner of the 2000 Photo contest. As vividly described by Ivshyna, “he is a person of common truth with the look of Ustym Karmeliuk and Mykola Dzheria.” An important detail is given by a tattoo on his hand, which says “drive, but know the limits.” And another photo is the Callsign Sokil, the winner of Den’s Golden Award in 2014 – one is only left to wonder where do such heroes come from, with their manly beauty, confident but at the same time gentle look, and an aura of personal dignity. A simple electrical worker in the past, since the start of the undeclared war against Ukraine he has been a tank trooper with the callsign Sokil; his tattoo reflects the change in the mindset of any common Ukrainian – a tryzub, Ukrainian coat of arms, and the words: “liberty or death.”

“This is the path traveled by many in our society in search of themselves. Could it be done without the crisis and the war? Indeed. There were some political chances for it. But they were outweighed with the society’s vices and inertia. The most important thing we have to realize in these trials is that we have no right to live as if nothing had ever happened. Living like this brought us the loss of Crimea, the war, the crisis, and the imitation of the state,” the Den’s editor-in-chief perfectly embodied the emotions, which arise upon visiting the Exhibition, into words.

It is hard to remember the Exhibition from the past years which would draw so many tears from the audience – the tears of natural sorrow and sadness for the loss of many young people on Maidan. But there are also the tears of cleansing and understanding of the way we must navigate, because such are the historical circumstances and the Ukraine’s geographical position. The main thing is that now is the time of new heroes needed by the society. One of them is Sokil – picture of him has been attracting many even after the formal part was over. One of them is a sniper girl from Donbas battalion, who had a purely peaceful profession of make-up artist in her civilian life. Among them are the wounded soldiers, and the medic in St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery, who stands before the iconostasis and has his personal conversation with God. And we all know what he is talking about – because there are corpses, the dead lying everywhere around him on the monastery floor. At the same time, everything in those pictures inspires life, because those pictures show the will of Ukraine and the courage of Ukrainians.

The exhibition in Lutsk will be open through April 19. Every visitor will be able to become an expert and choose his personal best photo. The most popular photos will be available for purchase at Den’s office. And here are the first impressions of the Exhibition visitors.

PEOPLE STOOD FOR A LONG TIME IN FRONT OF THE PICTURE SOKIL EVEN AFTER THE END OF THE EVENT / Photo by Ruslan KANIUKA, The Day

“On the one hand, it looked like we had our own state. But there are pictures that show – perhaps it was only an imitation of a state. The crisis we are facing now is a logical aftermath of such an imitation. And the inception of what was soon to become the true Ukrainian state had been happening at the same time nearby – and I am certain of the viability of this new state; it is something we must support and protect,” said Ivshyna at the opening ceremony of Den’s Photo Exhibition in Lutsk.

There are two pictures to confirm her words. The first has been replicated many times – Lionka the Politician, a winner of the 2000 Photo contest. As vividly described by Ivshyna, “he is a person of common truth with the look of Ustym Karmeliuk and Mykola Dzheria.” An important detail is given by a tattoo on his hand, which says “drive, but know the limits.” And another photo is the Callsign Sokil, the winner of Den’s Golden Award in 2014 – one is only left to wonder where do such heroes come from, with their manly beauty, confident but at the same time gentle look, and an aura of personal dignity. A simple electrical worker in the past, since the start of the undeclared war against Ukraine he has been a tank trooper with the callsign Sokil; his tattoo reflects the change in the mindset of any common Ukrainian – a tryzub, Ukrainian coat of arms, and the words: “liberty or death.”

“This is the path traveled by many in our society in search of themselves. Could it be done without the crisis and the war? Indeed. There were some political chances for it. But they were outweighed with the society’s vices and inertia. The most important thing we have to realize in these trials is that we have no right to live as if nothing had ever happened. Living like this brought us the loss of Crimea, the war, the crisis, and the imitation of the state,” the Den’s editor-in-chief perfectly embodied the emotions, which arise upon visiting the Exhibition, into words.

It is hard to remember the Exhibition from the past years which would draw so many tears from the audience – the tears of natural sorrow and sadness for the loss of many young people on Maidan. But there are also the tears of cleansing and understanding of the way we must navigate, because such are the historical circumstances and the Ukraine’s geographical position. The main thing is that now is the time of new heroes needed by the society. One of them is Sokil – picture of him has been attracting many even after the formal part was over. One of them is a sniper girl from Donbas battalion, who had a purely peaceful profession of make-up artist in her civilian life. Among them are the wounded soldiers, and the medic in St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery, who stands before the iconostasis and has his personal conversation with God. And we all know what he is talking about – because there are corpses, the dead lying everywhere around him on the monastery floor. At the same time, everything in those pictures inspires life, because those pictures show the will of Ukraine and the courage of Ukrainians.

The exhibition in Lutsk will be open through April 19. Every visitor will be able to become an expert and choose his personal best photo. The most popular photos will be available for purchase at Den’s office. And here are the first impressions of the Exhibition visitors.

“THE MAIN IDEA OF THE PHOTOS IS HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO DEFEND YOUR HOMELAND”

Sviatoslav KRAVCHUK, member of Volyn Oblast Council:

“The photos on display at this photo exhibit make us go through the Maidan events again and prevent us from forgetting and keeping away from the fact that in the east of the country war has been underway for a year, there is shelling, and people are getting killed. You feel really sad when you look at this and think be it not for Maidan events and this unannounced war, how many people would not have realized how important it is to defend their homeland. May we never again experience the events reflected in these pictures.

“But they teach us and prevent us from forgetting. Such photo exhibits have a great social meaning, because apart from being educated by the family, we must be educated by society, which must have its own values and its own heroes. Even the Internet won’t give us what such exhibit gives – the emotions, shared feelings, shared presence with our partisans. Of course, there are photos that are hard to look at, and I see tears on many faces. But these are tears of purification, understanding, unity, and recognition. The picture captures a certain moment of life which will never repeat again. And this captured moment has absorbed so many things. On the whole, the exhibit makes us feel optimistic and believe in Ukraine, believe that we are right, that we will win, believe in our people.

“I was the most impressed by the picture Human Warmth, where the soldier is holding a dog. You can peep in the eyes of this man again and again, think about him, about the reasons why he found himself namely in this place and did not stay at home; be glad that under these circumstances he does not lose humanism. And you can contemplate about many more things. And an impetus to such contemplation is the most important thing you always take from Den’s Photo Exhibit.”

“FOR UKRAINE! FOR MOTHER!”

Artur ALIOSHYN, third-year student of the Economics Department, Lesia Ukrainka Eastern European National University:

“I’m preparing a presentation photo album for the 75th anniversary of our higher educational institution and have come to Den’s Photo Exhibit out of professional, so to say, interest. I have already visit similar exhibits, know the topics and demands, the level, and I learn here the ability to depict a layer of life in one picture. Here the picture Priorities – on a fighting vehicle the Ukrainian soldiers wrote what they are fighting for: ‘For Ukraine! For mother!’ And it possesses a very deep meaning. Actually, it is the truth you start to understand and perceive yourself. Because, apart from the great Fatherland, everyone has a small fatherland, family and dear people, the citizens of the state which is being born through this not simple struggle. I appreciate Den’s pictures because they are full of humanism, they are about people and for people, they add positive things even to purely frontline moments, like in this shot. Ukraine is a generous soul, when a Ukrainian soldier treats Donetsk or Luhansk children to sweets and looks like he wants to hug them. This is a great thing to understand that there are eternal values, like ‘children have nothing to do with this,’ and I’m thankful to Den for the inspiring photo exhibit.”

“FOR IMPRESSIONS, IDEAS, AND FOR MEETINGS WITH INTELLIGENT PEOPLE”

Lesia BONDARUK, Ph.D. in History, journalist of Volyn newspaper:

“The ‘Thorny Autumn’ Den’s Photo Exhibit reminded me of the main events in our life which have taken place over the past year. And not only reminded, but also pricked. It pricked painfully with thorn the strings of memory where the sad tune of memories comes to life about the losses which could have been prevented and the achievements which we don’t appreciate and which we realize only today. Looking though the photos from Maidan, the Crimean photo sketches, the immortalized moments from the war in the east of Ukraine, I could barely hold back tears. I recalled the heroes of Ukraine, both living and heavenly. I saw other visitors of the exposition wipe the unwelcome tears. These events will always hurt.

“It is pleasant that the photo exhibit in Volyn has become a good tradition. Several months before the launch in Lutsk, reading the reports about it in Kyiv and other cities, I was waiting. You seem to know the topic well and have seen many photos, yet… Den’s Photo Exhibit is an atmosphere of meeting with creative intellectuals, people who are not indifferent to quality photography, literature, and media publications. It is pleasant to hurry to a new exhibit every year – for impressions, ideas, and for meetings with friends and simply intelligent people.”