Unbowed. Stories of Ukraine is a powerful and inspiring photography project produced by a group of Ukrainian women in Surrey who met through an arts-for-wellbeing program in Farnham.
The project, partly funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, records the women’s personal experiences of leaving their homes, their friends and family in Ukraine, living in the UK, and of the ongoing trauma of the war.
The show will launch with a drop-in open event (free admission) at the gallery on Saturday 14th September, 2-4pm.
The Ukraine art group was set up in November 2022, supported by Creative Response Arts and Activate Learning. Among them was award-winning photojournalist Natalia Sharomova, who taught portrait photography to others in the group. All the photographs in the exhibition were taken by members of the group using their newly learned skills: each portrait is accompanied by a personal story in the sitter’s own words, translated into English. These stories all demonstrate the extraordinary resilience and fortitude of this group of Ukrainian ladies, but they tell a much wider story. A story of how people can come together in times of crisis to work together to help one another overcome hardships and enrich the lives of many people.
Group photography tutor and exhibition curator Natalia Sharomova is a photojournalist from Kyiv. She was the winner of the XV International Photo Contest “Day-2019” and Ukraine National Photographer of the Year 2012.
Her photography will be presented as a part of the exhibition.
Unbowed. Stories of Ukraine has been shown at a number of venues in south-east England. We are delighted to welcome this important exhibition to Alton as part of our month of exhibitions, talks and films by and for the Ukrainian community. Please contact allen.gallery@hampshirecultrualtrust.org.uk with any queries.