Limerick Museum hosts Ukrainian photography exhibition

AN EXHIBITION which has opened in the Limerick Museum provides “a unique window into the experience of the Ukrainian people over the past 12 months.”

Aptly named With Faith, the exhibition by Ukrainian photographers Kateryna Vyshemirska and Olena Oleksiienko was opened by Mayor of the city and county of Limerick, Cllr Francis Foley, on February 9.

This is the second exhibition with a Ukrainian theme that Limerick Museum has hosted, following Shelter, an exhibition which held a number of children’s drawings from Ukrainian bomb shelters.

As with the Shelter exhibition, the opening ceremony of With Faith drew a large crowd, including many from the local Ukrainian community.

The photographers Kateryna and Olena met a day before the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year.

Following a month of warfare, they were forced to leave their homeland with their families. After a long drive, the women and their children settled in Limerick where their new life began. While meeting a lot of great people, they struggled along the way, never forgetting that their Motherland is on fire.

Of their harrowing journey, Mayor Foley, said: “For both women, war in Ukraine is the hardest theme to talk about, but they are doing their best to help Ukraine, to help those who moved and those who stayed.”

The exhibition, curated by Maurice Quillinan, will continue until February 25.