The Russian invasion has put cultural activities in Ukraine on hold. Museums are closed, windows are boarded up, galleries sit in dark silence, frozen in time. This exhibition recreates a shuttered museum somewhere in Ukraine: the only light comes from three wall-sized video projections by the Kyiv film collective Babylon’13, documenting the tragedy of the war as it unfolds outside the museum’s walls.
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With the exception of a few large museums in Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa, all of the museums are closed. The Russian invasion has put cultural activities on hold. Mirroring a dystopian science fiction film, museums across Ukraine are in cultural hibernation: staff work from home, artworks are wrapped and stored, windows are boarded up. Once active and vibrant galleries sit in dark silence.
Impact Damage, meaning visible physical damage or destruction, recreates a shuttered museum somewhere in Ukraine. The galleries are filled with the museums collection, from paintings and sculptures to embroidered garments and historic ceramic objects. Yet there are no lights to fully navigate the exhibition, the galleries are dark an dismal. The only light comes from three large scale, wall sized video projectinos by the Kyiv-based film collective Babylon ’13. The collective consists of 100 activist filmakers, photography directors, sound engineers, producers, and editors. The group has been working together since November 2013, and is now creating short, narrative films of the current war. Their stories reflect the drama and tragedy across the country and the charged moments outside the walls of the museum in any city. This exhibition is intended to parallel and create emotional connections to what cultural institutions in Ukraine are experiencing on a daily basis.
The Ukrainian Museum
222 E 6th St
New York NY
open wed-sun 11:30 to 5:00