In The Name of Freedom: A Collaboration Between CHAUSSEE 36 and the Ukrainian Women Photographers Organisation

CHAUSSEE 36 PHOTO FOUNDATION’s latest exhibition is a fundraiser in collaboration with the Ukrainian Women Photographers Organization and Berlin-based charity ‘Be An Angel,’ who have been helping refugees since 2015. Opening on the 2nd April, In the Name of Freedom explores the work of 25 female Ukrainian photographers, whose images have taken on a new sense of meaning within the tragic circumstances of the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ukraine. As a non-for-profit institution, Chaussee 36 is committed to adding to the cultural and socio-political discourse through examining the impact that images can have on society. The exhibition is an extension of the Ukrainian Women Photographers Organisation’s ongoing NFTs project, and gives these women the opportunity to exhibit their work in the physical space. We visited the exhibition, and spoke with Tania Olivares, assistant curator at Chaussee 36, to get further insight into the project. 

SLEEK: How did the collaboration between CHAUSSEE 36 PHOTO FOUNDATION and the Ukrainian Women Photographers Organisation come about? 

Tania Olivares: The ‘Ukrainian Women Photographers Organisation’ started in 2020 during the pandemic by artists and curators Anna Melnykova who wanted to unite women photographers within Ukraine during the first COVID lockdown. All of the photographers in the collective are at different stages in their career, which makes In the Name of Freedom exhibition so eclectic. I think they only had one other presentation as an organisation before their NFT project, which led to this exhibition right now.  We actually found the ‘Ukrainian Women Photographers Organisation’ through Instagram. We saw a post by Yana Hryhorenko, co-creater of the organization’s NFT project, which was a self portrait. When the war broke out, a fire just lit up inside Yana and she felt that the collective really had to do something and so they decided to put all their photos up on OpenSea. They posted all over Instagram, and it fortunately made its way onto our feed. 

As a non-for-profit cultural institution, we wanted to do something in reaction to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ukraine as we feel it’s our responsibility to be socially and politically engaged. It was a very different process for us too; usually we’re planning our exhibitions at least six months ahead but with this exhibition, we brought it together in three weeks. Although we’re unable to make big financial contributions as a non-for-profit institution, we have an audience and are able to show support through awareness. 

S: Awareness is so crucial within the current situation, and to be able to create a discussion, a conversation, through imagery is very powerful. You’re also working with the ‘Be An Angel’ organisation, a Berlin-based initiative that has been helping refugees since 2015. What made you choose ‘Be An Angel’ as the organisation to donate proceeds to? How can visitors donate?

TO: We had an important discussion about what kind of fundraiser we wanted to have and where the funds should be directed. We chose ‘Be An Angel’ because they’ve already been working with refugees since 2015 and we liked that they were an organisation who are inclusive, working with refugees from all over the world. That was important to us. As an institution, we didn’t want to position ourselves as prioritising certain people over others. So, ‘Be An Angel’ was the perfect charity for us. It was also important for us to stay local. All of our sponsors are local too, so it’s really a collaborative Berlin fundraiser, which just makes it all the more special. 

At CHAUSSEE 36, visitors can buy physical prints of the photographs ranging from 150-500 and we also offer charity prints, which are priced at 50 to make the initiative accessible to all who would like to contribute. All proceeds from these prints will be donated directly to ‘Be An Angel.’ In the exhibition space, we also have a cafe/bar where all the proceeds from drinks and snacks will too be donated.

S: The ‘Ukrainian Women Photographers Organisation’ is also running this project online on OpenSea, where people can buy NFTs of the images. Can you tell us a little bit more about this?

TO: As part of the organisation’s ongoing project with photography and bringing these women together to exhibit their work, the move to NFTs was their way to contribute in aid of the crisis. Not all of the women were in Ukraine at the time, but most of them were. Some were in hotspots, and some of them were in smaller towns and safer areas. I think collectively they were looking at which means they had to raise money for people that needed it, and the NFT medium was the most accessible. There’s a distance between what they’re doing and what we’re doing. For them, it’s this immediate need and the medium of NFTs has allowed them to raise money and connect with people across Ukraine and beyond. Through the proceeds from sold NFTs, the women have been supporting orphanages, animal shelters as well as their own journey to a safe place. There’s no common thread between any of the images. Some of them were taken in 2013, others were taken on February 24th as a reaction to the start of the full-scale war. It’s all very different styles of photography too, some are very experimental while others are more traditional, which I think makes the exhibition really interesting. An important point to note is that the women are living through two different realities. They’ve got this incredibly traumatising reality that they’re facing, but then they’ve also got their photographic practices. Some are engaging with their previous life, their pre-war life and offering a glimpse into what their lives used to be. Through revisiting their archives and selecting images to present within the current climate, the women are creating a new perspective on the images. Others are creating work in a direct response to the situation. Maria Petrenko’s self portrait is an example of one that was taken the day the war broke out, and you can really see this emotional reaction. It’s really moving.

S: As an institution interested in adding to the cultural and socio-political discourse through examining the impact images can have on wider society, what are your thoughts on NFTs and how is this medium relevant to the zeitgeist? 

TO: The exhibition at CHAUSSEE 36 is an extension of the Ukrainian Women Photographers Organisation’s ongoing NFTs project. I think for them, it was more the NFT as a medium, rather than the decision between digital art versus physical art. It was circumstantial and not necessarily conceptual. It’s the only accessible way in which these women were able to exhibit their work right now. Even the process of NFTs has been a struggle at times. They weren’t always able to access the internet, and some had left their houses so they had to go back, which was difficult due to the curfews. I think for us the NFTs conversation is, of course, an interesting topic, but it’s not a conversation that we’ve even had. For us, it was about offering these women the chance to bring their work from the digital space into the physical, to bring awareness to both their NFTs project but also to extend their voice. 

S: The diversity of these photographs, gathered from 25 artists, documents an intimate, tragic and surreal vision of a country that now finds itself at war. Each piece evokes a somewhat uncomfortable but incredibly powerful emotion of a kind of surreal nostalgia. It’s so powerful. For you personally, which image stands out as one that evokes this feeling and can you tell us any more about the narrative behind it?

TO: There’s a couple images that stand out for me in terms of emotion. I am really in love with  Elena Subach’s series Grandmothers On The Edge of Heaven (2019). I think this was a series she was working on prior to the war, but in the context, it just becomes so powerful. There’s an image from the series called Babusi 004 which sees flowers and the food on the table, which for me was a very important image, because we link food to cultural identity and family. You know, when we go into our family homes, there are specific smells that we relate to being at home. You can see it’s like a home cooked meal and it’s very traditional and simple food. The other image that speaks to me is Personal Space (2019) by Xenia Pretrovska, which is actually part of a wider series of images that documents people in a very intimate way in their personal spaces – as the title suggests. The narratives and identities explored across the exhibition are currently in transition due to the circumstances, which I think is where this feeling of a surreal nostalgia, a kind of stillness, comes from. 

S: What do you hope that ‘In The Name of Freedom’ will achieve? 

TO: I think, at the start of the war, people were really emotional about the things that they saw on the news. But I think, as time has gone on, people have become somewhat desensitised to it – but this doesn’t mean it’s over. For us at CHAUSSEE 36 PHOTO FOUNDATION, it’s about continuing the conversation, but it’s also really about giving these women an opportunity, and they’re all really excited about it. That’s for sure. I think it gives them something to feel a sense of normalcy again. 

In the Name of Freedom is available to view until 1 May 2022 at Chaussee 36 Photo Foundation. Visitors can donate online or at the exhibition, by purchasing prints, drinks and snacks. All proceeds will be donated directly to Be An Angel. You can also buy NFTs from the Ukrainian Women Photographers Organisation on OpenSea.