The six-part exhibition series starting in 2022 Modernism in Ukraine – Modern Roots and Heritage of Kharkiv and Lviv funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and other partners, is being shown in Ukraine from May 13. The exhibition venue is the iconic Derzhprom complex in Kharkiv, a gigantic constructivist building from the late 1920s, which was already considered a potential UNESCO World Heritage Site by experts, but was last hit by Russian bombs in autumn 2024 and is still a theater of war, which also led to delays in shipping, customs formalities and construction. Despite the extremely difficult situation, a pre-opening took place on May 7, which was attended by Prof. Svitlana Smolenska, the author of chapters 4 and 6, as well as many others.

The exhibition parts 3, 4 and 6, shown in cooperation with the local YermilovCentre, consist of around 120 of the 283 panels in the series, which was created for the Modernism 2022 Triennial in Berlin and shown for the first time. The photo and text panels show outstanding Modernism buildings in Kharkiv and Lviv, explain them and place them in the context of a common European Modernism heritage. In view of the destruction and anti-modernist aspirations, their values and architectural witnesses need to be saved, communicated and ways of suitable restoration explored together.

The exhibition opened on May 13 at 5 pm at the Kharkiv Media Hub Gallery at 5 Freedom Square (Svoboda Square 5, 5th entry) and can be seen until June 30 from Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm. Admission is free. It remains to be seen whether other locations in Ukraine – such as Lviv – will follow.

For those active in Ukraine, it is helpful, encouraging and important if the importance of architectural heritage is received as widely and transnationally as possible and ideally an international community of supporters is found. We therefore urge all partners and other stakeholders to disseminate this information – also posted on the Triennial ‘s social media channels (see Facebook – Instagram – Twitter ) – within their respective communities and via suitable channels.

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