An exhibition featuring paintings from the Kherson Museum that were looted by the Russians has opened in Odesa

On July 11, the Odessa Museum of Western and Eastern Art opened the exhibition “Kherson: NOT/Stolen”—a project dedicated to the collection that the occupiers removed from the Kherson Regional Art Museum.

A photojournalist from Intenta attended the exhibition opening .

The project’s curator, Olena Balaba, explained that the idea originated in 2024 as an investigation into exactly what the Russians had stolen from the Kherson Museum.

“At first, the idea was simply that we wanted to help the museum—and to help Kherson and its residents in general,” Balaba said.

According to her, she began studying the stolen collection and suggested to artist friends in Kyiv that they create not copies of the stolen works, nor replicas, but studies—as a form of research.

The first to join the initiative was the renowned Ukrainian artist Matvii Vaisberg, who painted the first piece—a view of Kherson, specifically the Kherson River Port.

Artists from Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, and other cities have already joined the initiative.

The curator emphasized that the project remains open, so new participants can join.

Currently, the exhibition features 42 works by 21 contemporary Ukrainian artists. Some of the artists created several pieces at once to support the Kherson Art Museum.

“All the works are completely different, but this is the kind of museum collection that shows what a real museum can be,” Balaba said.

Oleksiy Baula, co-curator of the exhibition, explained the symbolic significance of the project.

“The Russians thought they could steal our culture by looting museums. But they can’t do that, because our culture is within us,” he noted.

One of the project’s inspirers was Kherson resident Roza Topanova. She explained that she supported the initiative because she had studied near the art museum and remembers its collection well.

According to her, even if the stolen works aren’t returned anytime soon, the museum must continue to thrive and grow.

“A museum isn’t just walls; what matters most are its collections and what’s inside,” said Roza Topanova.

Artist Matvii Vaisberg added that all the works will eventually be donated to the museum, and the exhibition itself is a testament to the solidarity of Ukrainian artists.

“This is a testament to the continuity of Ukrainian culture and the solidarity of Ukraine—because there are artists here from every city,” he concluded.

The organizers also highlighted the importance of regional museums. They emphasized that it is precisely these cultural institutions that shape the memory of communities and require special support during the war.

Ірина Глухова