Ukraine: War and Resistance is an exhibition of photos taken by American and Ukrainian photographers in different timeframes, including Russia’s war on Ukraine. These talented photographers show the diverse aspects and dimensions of this war. At the same time, the photos illustrate the words of Senator J. William Fulbright: “Our future is not in the stars, but in our own minds and hearts.” While these photos are traveling the world, Ukraine is at war, resisting its oppression and creating its future.
The photo exhibit will be displayed throughout Zeeland, in various places and on various occasions (see our Agenda for the full schedule). We are grateful to the RIAS Short-term Fellow for 2023, Mariia Kravchenko (Fulbright Ukraine & Institute of International Education Kyiv), who arranged for the exhibit to come to Zeeland. Out of the more than seventy photos Mariia submitted for consideration, students at the University College Roosevelt (UCR) selected twenty. The exhibit is sponsored by the Provincie Zeeland, Four Freedoms door het Jaar Heen, Zeeuwse Bibliotheek, Fulbright Ukraine, and the RIAS.
Weapons of Defense
With the beginning of Russia’s war against Ukraine, a cohort of Fulbright photographers found themselves at the epicenter of momentous events, equipped with their own weapons of defense: knowledge and a camera. The photographers – either Ukrainian or American Fulbrighters – managed to capture the tragic, heroic, devastating, and hopeful moments of life in Ukraine. Most of these photographs were taken after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, but some date as early as 2014, when Russia first invaded Ukraine and annexed the Crimean Peninsula.
Ukraine: War and Resistance is a traveling project by Fulbright Ukraine & Institute of International Education (IIE) Kyiv Office, in partnership with various co-organizers in the U.S. and Europe.
The photographers are almost all Fulbright Alumni who are either from Ukraine, or American Fulbrighters who have lived and worked in Ukraine for several years. In fall 2022, the photo exhibition Ukraine: War and Resistance debuted at the Vinnytsia museum, Ukraine. It has since visited the U.S., Germany, Czech Republic, Bulgaria and the Netherlands. The photo exhibition presents the works of Fulbrighters J.T. Blatty, Oleksii Furman, Brendan Hoffman, Serhii Korovayny, Joseph Sywenkyj, Emine Ziyatdinova, and Oksana Parafeniuk, a former employee of the Fulbright Program in Ukraine. General design by Marian Luniv, Ukrainian artist and Communications Coordinator at Fulbright Ukraine & IIE Kyiv Office.
Fulbright
The Fulbright Program is one of the most prestigious exchange programs in the world. It’s operated by the U.S. Department of State in partnership with more than 160 countries worldwide and facilitates scientific, educational, and cultural exchanges. The program was established in 1946 on the initiative of Senator J. William Fulbright (Arkansas, USA), who endeavored to improve cooperation and increase mutual understanding between countries through international exchanges in order to avoid wars and human suffering. According to him, exchange program is not a panacea, but an avenue of hope.
In Ukraine, the Fulbright Program has existed since 1992. For 30 years, it has provided opportunities for hundreds of Ukrainians and Americans to gain academic exchange experience. Fulbright Ukraine is led and administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in partnership with the U.S. Embassy Kyiv and the U.S. Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs.