The 31 st anniversary of the restoration of Ukraine’s Independence is approaching! The Ukrainian National Museum continues a series of exhibitions devoted to the struggle of the Ukrainian people for their freedom. In July and August, we show the American community Russian war against Ukrainians and its barbaric destruction of peaceful civilians, infrastructure, cities and villages. We recently opened a photo exhibition of the Polish photographer Grzegosz Litynski, who was in Kyiv region as a volunteer with a humanitarian mission during March and April of this year. His exhibition, under the symbolic name “Ukrainian Lexicon”, was shown in New York, Minneapolis, and Chicago. The author himself presented his black-and-white photographs, reminding us that Ukrainians are protecting the whole Europe from the Russian occupier, aggressor, and fascism. Grzegosz’s 12 photos represent 12 new Ukrainian words – a bridge, a car, a tank, a bike, a shop, a bathtub, a human, a horse, a room, a bear, a window, a shirt. The viewer freezes when meeting the eyes of a Ukrainian, in which there is grief and a sudden fire for victory. “We will rebuild the bridges of independence, and together we will pave new roads…” Grzegorz Litynski photographed the war and its consequences in many countries of the world, but he perceives the war in Ukraine as personal. From the first days he became its documentarist- recording the crimes of the Rashists (Russian Fascists) with his camera, showing the world refugees who were forced to leave their homeland, and collecting funds to help Ukrainian orphans. He lives in Wroclaw, Poland, teaches photography at the universities in Poland and Germany, and works on American projects documenting memories. We invite you to see the unique photos of a true friend of Ukraine! The exhibition is accompanied by a series of posters provided to us by the Consulate General of Ukraine in Chicago, created by the media project – Ukrainer. Here, in the historical context, you can see parallels between the World War II and the current war in Ukraine, where the phrase “Never again” is emphasized by the bitter experience of what was experienced and crossed out forever by Moscovits.
An exhibition within an exhibition opens on August 5th . Our museum’s collection of philatelic and numismatic material needs research. Numismatics and philatelics are two auxiliary historical sciences that tell us about the economy, culture and symbols of different countries and people through the study of money. Our museum has preserved thousands of copies issued since 1917 in Ukraine – evidence of the era of struggles for freedom and continuous movement forward.
Ukrainian philatelist Yaroslav Nestor from Chicago has collected a unique collection of his own, which is properly arranged and ready to be enjoyed by connoisseurs of such type. The most important thing is that every year, it is a new bridge, a new experience and all this will be discussed in the August exhibition. You will have the opportunity to get to know Ukrainian culture better through the stamps that 100 years ago, just like today, were born in extreme conditions and retain historical and artistic value. On January 1, 1918, the Central Rada of the Ukrainian People’s Republic approved the issue of the first Ukrainian banknote with a denomination of 100 karbovanets. The Ukrainian People’s Republic, being under the aggression of Bolshevik Russia, created its own money and stamp communication system. You will learn about the extraordinary artists, including Heorhiy Narbut, and you will see original stamps of 1918, vintage sheets with steps, stamps of the times of occupation and underground post office of Ukraine. Don’t miss the opportunity to encounter a unique collection of Ukrainian stamps on August 5th at the Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago.
—Curator Maria Klimchak—
