Ottawa gallery hosts Ukrainian photo exhibition to mark anniversary of Russian invasion
In a series of photographs, Mykhailo Shamanov's former life as a television and radio presenter is depicted in studio shots and personal selfies.
In the next, Shamanov is clothed in military gear, his new life as a member of a Ukrainian territorial defense unit brought into focus.
Shamanov's transition from civilian to military life is one of several such stories featured in the exhibition New Lives, Same People: Ukrainians in Wartime that's open for viewing in Ottawa's SAW Gallery until Friday.
"That's what we saw at the beginning of this war – everybody trying to figure out what their place is," Sofiya Kominko, co-founder of the Ukrainian Canadian Advocacy Group, told CBC's All in a Day Wednesday.
With support from the Ukrainian Embassy, the advocacy group partnered with non-profit Leuchtturm Helfer e.V. to bring the exhibition to Ottawa following its debut in Halle, Germany.
The final day of the pop-up photo exhibition, which runs from Feb. 21 to Feb. 24, marks the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Photos capture Ukrainians helping war effort
The exhibition tells the stories of Ukrainians from a range of backgrounds who either joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine or volunteered to help in the war effort.
Most of the stories from the original German exhibition were brought to Ottawa but were supplemented with the story of Ukrainian-Canadian Denis Polishchuk.
Polishchuk emigrated from Ukraine to Canada when he was six years old. After Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, he returned to fight at the age of 21. When Russia invaded in 2022, he decided to go again.
"He was such a proud Ukrainian," Kominko said. "That's why he is out there on the front lines today."
Although Polishchuk is a new addition, Kominko said his story fits within the broader theme of the show.
"You [Ukrainians] are not going to university. You're not – I don't know – working or interning or doing what you planned," she said. "There's a destruction there in terms of the identity."
The exhibition's opening night kicked off Tuesday and was followed by a film screening Wednesday evening. Doors will be open to the public from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday.
