Images of despair, destruction, and yet hope fill the walls of the Ukrainian National Museum as the center hosts the photography exhibit Children of War: Moments of War Horrors through the lens of Photographers. The exhibit, running through June 27th, features the work of Ukrainian photographer Maks Levin who died documenting the atrocities of the Russian army. Levin was found shot to death on April 1 of this year near Kyiv.
The exhibit features many examples of his work and proceeds of a fundraiser held on May 6 were donated to his surviving family. Along with Levin, works by Ukrainian photographers Vera Blansh, Kostiantyn Sova, Ruslan Lytvyn, and Yuliya Bulgakova are also featured. The images show the massive destruction of buildings, the displacement of children, and the death occasioned by the invaders.
But hope also shines through. In one image, a woman brings a tray of sweets to soldiers on the street. In another image, an elderly woman raises her hand as if saying “Stop the War in Ukraine!” At the exhibit’s opening several speakers expressed the emotions conveyed by the images behind.
In attendance on May 6 was Yevgeniy Drobot, Consulate General of Ukraine, Steven Danyluk, LtCol (ret) of Spartan Sword, a Washington D.C. based veterans aid group, Samuel Cook of Borderlands Foundation, and Maria Klimchak, Curator of the exhibit for the Ukrainian National Museum. Cook told the crowd about the foundation he created that provides direct support to refugees through his Ukrainian employees that took are now in Poland.
