Sources
The immersive exhibition "Ukraine: Land of the Brave" combines footage of journalists, photographers, artists, as well as materials of leading media, giving visitors the opportunity to hear the voices of ordinary Ukrainians in the extraordinary circumstances of war. The presented information is emotional and uncensored, and invites visitors to become witnesses of events in Ukraine. The exhibition is deeply personal and reflects the attempt of every Ukrainian to overcome their grief and uncertainty. More than 10,000 selected photos and videos were processed to create the visuals, resulting in a multi-faceted exhibition.
We are grateful to the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy for cooperation and assistance in obtaining materials to create the exhibition "Ukraine: Land of the Brave". The photo and video materials of such leading media as UNIAN, 1+1, UKRINFORM, UKRAINE24, SUSPILNE, ICTV, Star Light Media, STB and Media Group Ukraine were used in the exhibition. The exhibition includes urgent topics and footage of the destruction of Ukrainian cities such as Chernihiv and Mariupol, stories of defenders, tragedies of children of the war, and farewell to our fallen compatriots.
Works of Oleksiy Shekshuiev, Oleksandr Synelnikov, Ihor Zaharenko and Ivan Zakharenko, Ihor Belov, Maia Bilokon, Andriy Bohomolov, Boris Bukhman and Danuta Skakovska, as well as the materials of unknown anonymous witnesses and contributors, were included in the exhibition "Ukraine: Land of the Brave".
During the musical design of the exhibition, songs and compositions performed by: Picardyska Tertsia, Katya Chili, Andrii Khlyvniuk, PROBASS ∆ HARDI were used.
Also, the footage from the film "Mariupol. The hronicles of Hell" was used in the exhibition "Ukraine - the Land of the Brave". Yelyzaveta Tatarinova is the author and director of the film. The film includes documentary footage, a monologue of the city, and interviews with people who managed to escape from the blockaded Mariupol. This is a story about life in the city from the first days of the war until the beginning of April. These people told about the tragedy in Mariupol in the film: Mariupol journalists Nadiya Sukhorukova, Mykola Osychenko and Max Grabovskyi; volunteer Kateryna Yerska; Yevhen Tuzov, commandant of the largest storage facility in Mariupol at the Terra Sport sports complex; the family of the deceased photo artist Viktor Dedovat, people who survived the bombing of the Mariupol Drama Theatre, as well as witnesses of the shelling of the maternity hospital and many others. We used only a little bit of the film’s materials but but what was included in the plot of the exhibition is impressive and reflects all the pain and tragedy of the people of Mariupol.
The exhibition included shots of famous photojournalists Dmytro Kozatskyi and Serhiy Loiko. Their works gave the armed conflict a human face and were on the covers of famous publications.
Dmytro Kozatsky is a Ukrainian photographer, military serviceman, senior soldier, fighter of the "Azov" regiment of the National Guard of Ukraine, Head of the press service of the "Azov" regiment. He’s been a defender of the city of Mariupol in Donetsk region since 2015. From March 1, 2022, together with other comrades, he was holding the defense at the Azovstal plant. He was staying at the Azovstal metallurgical plant for 82 days while the city was under siege, documenting the experiences of soldiers, civilians and children who hid in its tunnels to survive. On May 20, 2022, realizing that he would be captured, Kozatsky made his photos freely available with a request to distribute them in all mass media for comprehensive coverage of those events. Together with other defenders of Mariupol, he was captured by russia and was released on September 21, 2022 during the exchange of 215 Ukrainian defenders. On December 6, he returned to the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In 2022, he was included in the rating of "30 under 30: Faces of the Future" by "Forbes", and the photo "The light will win" became one of the best in 2022 according to the newspaper "The Guardian" and was selected for the list of "100 best photos of 2022" according the magazine "Time".
Serhiy Loyko is a military journalist, writer, photographer, translator. For many years he was a reporter to the Los Angeles Times, the author of numerous reports from areas of military and political conflicts around the world. Since 2014, he has been covering the war in eastern Ukraine. He made a series of reports from Donbas as a correspondent for the Los Angeles Times. Serhiy Loiko became the only foreign correspondent who visited the Donetsk airport besieged by russian militants. Risking his life, he publishes photos from the front line. He is the author of the book "Airport", about the events at the Donetsk airport. His works, the series "Cyborgs of the Donetsk Airport" attracted the attention of the world thanks to the depiction of the courage of our soldiers and the fierce struggle for control over this strategic object. Now Loiko is a full-time serviceman of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Unfortunately, filming and documentation of events and crimes against humanity have become our present, but it is necessary to do it so that the world can see what Ukrainians see and feel every day. People mostly cry on the shows of this immersive exhibition. Indeed these are not the best emotions, but they are necessary and capable of strengthening the unity of the world community in the fight against russian military and cultural expansion.
We are grateful to everyone who defends our country and to those who risk their lives to film, photograph and write the truth about these events.