The Museum of War will host the opening of the exhibition ‘Memory. Dialogues‘, which reveals the unique family stories of Ukrainian and German artists. The event is scheduled for May 9 at 3:00 PM and will take place with the support of the Embassy of Germany in Ukraine in partnership with the Berlin-Karlshorst Museum. This important cultural project is dedicated to Europe Day and aims to promote dialogue between generations and cultures.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Family Stories and Historical Memory at the Heart of the Exhibition
The foundation of the project is the narratives of three artists: Polina Kuznetsova from Ukraine, Efa Neidlinger, and Jenny Alten from Germany. Their life paths reflect the intersections of family histories during the period of Nazi occupation in Ukraine. In particular, Efa Neidlinger’s great-grandfather, a Wehrmacht soldier, was in Kharkiv during World War II. Additionally, Polina Kuznetsova’s grandmother experienced the harsh realities of Nazi occupation in her childhood.
Through diaries, photographs, oral memories, and artistic reflections, the exhibition addresses important themes of collective and family memory, traumatic heritage, and the process of reconciliation. It calls for dialogue between generations and cultures, as well as contributes to the preservation of historical consciousness.
Special Exhibits and the Symbolism of Memory
The highlight of the exhibition will be the art installation ‘Voices‘, created as part of Polina Kuznetsova’s project ‘Black Soil‘ in collaboration with artist Andriy Skrypka. At its center is the earth, symbolizing memory and the preservation of historical recollections. According to the author, the earth is a material that retains memories of the past even when people forget about it.