President awards director of Odesa museum with an order

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zedenskyy has awarded Semen Kantor, director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Odesa, with the Order of Merit, III class.

The corresponding decree was published by the press service of the Presidential Office.

The awards were given for significant achievements in strengthening Ukrainian statehood, courage and dedication in defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, loyalty to the Ukrainian people, and conscientious performance of professional duties.

In addition to Semen Kantor, the list also includes Antonina Shkamerda, a volunteer and director of the Mortrans Maritime Transport Charitable Foundation from Odesa. She received the Order of Princess Olga of the III degree.

In total, the list includes 64 people - volunteers, athletes, teachers, and cultural figures.

The Museum of Modern Art of Odesa (MMAO) is one of the first museums of contemporary art in Ukraine, created with the aim of museumifying contemporary Odesa art and integrating it into the national and international artistic contexts. It was founded on April 10, 2008, by businessman Vadym Morokhovskyi. As the basis of the Museum Foundation, the businessman acquired and donated to the museum a unique collection of works by the masters of the second wave of the Odesa avant-garde of the 60s and 80s of the twentieth century, collected by the famous collector Mykhailo Knobel. This collection has now been expanded and continues to be replenished. In February 2022, the museum was in the process of moving to the new premises of the former Champagne Factory. The opening of the large exhibition space was scheduled for April 10, 2022.

The outbreak of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine disrupted these plans and left the museum without premises. By the end of March 2022, the entire museum collection was evacuated to a special storage facility in the western region of Ukraine.

Since 2023, the exhibition activities of the IMMA have been temporarily carried out with the participation of colleagues from the Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art in the exhibition halls of this partner institution, which are free due to the war.

Кирило Бойко