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This time, IACK is holding a special exhibition on the Museum of Kharkiv School of Photography (MOKSOP).

The "Kharkov School of Photography" refers to a group of photographers led by Boris Mikhailov, who explored artistic photography, including nudes, which were banned at the time, in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv during the Soviet era, and their subsequent generations. Unlike schools such as the German Becher School, their techniques and aesthetics were explored and passed down through group and individual workshops, and currently there are just under 50 members.

The Museum of Photography of the Kharkiv School was founded in 2018 by Kharkiv School photographer and curator Serhiy Lebedinsky. It was scheduled to open as a museum of the Kharkiv School, aiming to preserve, research and develop Ukrainian and international photography, but the opening of the facility was cancelled due to the Russian military invasion in 2022, and the Kharkiv School's collected works were evacuated to the basement of Lebedinsky's house in Wolfsburg, Germany. The works were then temporarily stored by the Wolfsburg Kunstmuseum, and a part of this important collection was exhibited as the exhibition "Ukrainian Dreamers: Kharkiv School Photography" from October 13, 2023 to January 7, 2024.

In addition to MOKSOP publications, this special feature will feature a collection of works by Boris Mikhailov, the originator of the Kharkiv School, as well as Genron Issue 16, which includes an essay by Russian literature scholar and Genron representative Ueda Yoko on photographer Boris Mikhailov and the Kharkiv School.

Please take this opportunity to check it out.

*Added June 13, 2024
Nowadays, when we hear the word Ukraine, we inevitably associate it with images of war, but this exhibition is not about war. We make this clear because lumping people and things together under such an image has the violence of rewriting everything into something political. Even in Ukraine, there are places that have become war zones and places where people are living as they always have. No matter how unstable the situation is, there should always be non-political daily activities there. This exhibition examines how Kharkiv artists have flexibly explored photographic expression, and how seemingly redundant things such as art and creative activities function in times of emergency.

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Feature: MOKSOP
Dates:May 25, 2024 (Sat) - June 23 (Sun) | Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays except June 1Open on Monday, June 10th and Friday, June 21st *The session has been extended. May 25th (Saturday), 26th (Sunday), 27th (Monday), June 2nd (Sunday), 2024
Business hours: 11:00-14:00/15:00-18:00
Venue: IACK

Check out the online special here
www.iack.online/collections/kharkiv-school-of-photography