Odesa continued to develop the exhibition on Deribasovskaya Street

Artist and fashion designer Volodymyr Umanenko organized a performance on Deribasovskaya Street in the center of Odesa as part of the exhibition "Freedom is not Death".

As the artist explained to an Int'l correspondent, the performance consisted in the fact that the New Year's banner, which had previously closed the previous exhibition, was painted on the back side and turned into a part of the exhibition.

"We took down the New Year's banner and the Department of Culture supported this idea to paint the banner. This is how we support everyone in this psychological war. "Freedom is not Death" is an exhibition-activity that is being held today for the 114th time," the artist said.

Vadym Luhavtsov, a soldier and member of the Ukrainian Designers' Union, made a small message on the banner - in Russian, as he explained, so that everyone on the other side of the border could understand it: "As long as the so-called Russia exists, the morning cannot be good."

"Nothing will change as long as Russia exists. I have nothing to add to this. I think it is important to rebuild the wall. It really works. I have four works here that have been shared on social media through photos taken by people," he said.

Galina Dzhikayeva , director of the Fierce Theater, an IDP from Crimea, only watched the performances, but considers the exhibition itself very useful and important. She was upset when the previous exhibition was closed with a New Year's banner.

"This is extremely important, because when all these posters were hanging here, I brought every friend who came to Odesa and showed them, and it made them happy. When they put up these Christmas pictures, it was like a fig leaf and it was very unpleasant. But now the exhibition is being revived and it is happening before our eyes. It's an artistic performance where artists do what they feel like doing. And I like that people passing by stop and watch and become involved in this process," the director said.

A week ago, artist and fashion designer Volodymyr Umanenko pasted new posters on the wall where he launched the project "Freedom is not Death" in Odesa in March 2022.

The project started in March 2022, at the so-called "Book Fair," where it collected works by artists from all over Ukraine on one topic-the Russian-Ukrainian war. The idea was clear: it's important to live, it's important to tell the unpleasant truth about the war, getting rid of the fear of death.

It was there, at the Book, that the song "Kira" was first performed by the Odesa band "Fire Hydrant" in memory of three-month-old Kira Glodan. Then the surviving residents of the building and the families of the victims made a spontaneous memorial of children's toys, flowers and candles.

Кирило Бойко