with Thomas Gust, photographer, publisher and gallerist at Buchkunst Berlin
and Sergiy Lebedynskyy, photographer and Director of MOKSOP — Museum of Kharkiv School of Photography

Kharkiv School of Photography is an artistic movement launched over 50 years ago by Ukrainian photographers. It was centred around the city of Kharkiv. The collection begins in the 1960s with the emergence of work by independent artist groups and photographers, with later works reacting to historical developments from the independence movement of the 1990s and the Euromaidan to the start of the war in 2022. In its visualisation of struggles for freedom, independence and national sovereignty, it is a mirror of recent Ukrainian history. The museum is also an institutional model for other “young” countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

It is only a few years ago that MOKSOP — Museum of Kharkiv School of Photography opened as the first museum dedicated to this movement. With the outbreak of war in 2022, the museum’s collections were evacuated to Germany and Austria. Sergiy Lebendynskyy, director of MOKSOP, will speak about these traumatic experiences. Together with photographer, publisher and  curator Thomas Gust, he will also talk about efforts to protect the long-term legacy of this vital artistic movement even while in exile. The two will also discuss an exhibition that will both establish a greater awareness of Ukraine’s historical and cultural developments and establish a space for mutual encounters and the sharing of experiences and ideas.