The Künstlerhaus museum in Vienna hosted a presentation of the first printed issue of the Ukrainian Vogue publication since the beginning of the full-scale war. The event was timed to the opening of the ART ON THE BATTLEFRONT exhibition of works by contemporary Ukrainian artists, promoted by the publication.
With the support of the Museum of Civilian Voices of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, the printed issue of Vogue published a story of Alevtyna Kakhidze, a Ukrainian artist from Donetsk region, who lost her mother during the occupation. In an online format on Vogue UA, we will share a story of Natalia Lelyukh, a volunteer doctor who is currently on the front lines, and Anastasia Magerramova, head of the press office of Okhmatdyt National Specialized Children’s Hospital.
The Museum of Civilian Voices shares an important goal with Ukrainian Vogue, which is to collect stories of Ukrainian civilians who are living through the war and its consequences. The Museum’s archive now has more than 65,000 such stories. Having pooled its efforts with Vogue for the sake of preserving the historical memory of Ukraine, the Museum joined the Heroes project. This is Vogue’s project that collects essential first-hand testimonies for a better and peaceful future.
“The Mission of the Museum of Civilian Voices is to keep the war in memory, convey the truth to the world, learn its lessons, and prevent it from happening again.” Sincere, terrifying, and touching stories about those who survived and those who are no more with us help to build up and preserve our historical memory, and pass it on to the new generations. It is important that we share this mission with like-minded people at Vogue. Together we can do more,” emphasized Natalya Yemchenko, a member of the Supervisory Board of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation.
The words on the issue’s cover page – The Road of the Unbreakable – refer to those who have found their way onto the pages of the magazine, as well as to the millions of heroes whose names have yet to be learned.
“This spring, Ukrainian Vogue is going to release its printed issue for the first time since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. We dedicated our special issue to all Ukrainians and to our common path to victory. The heroes in the issue’s spotlight include the military and politicians, volunteers and artists, human rights activists and performing artists, workers of the State Emergency Service and Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways), who bring the country closer to victory with their daily work. Some of our heroes’ stories found a continuation in a special project implemented in collaboration with the Museum of Civilian Voices of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, which collects stories of people who suffered from the war. By pooling together our efforts, we strive to tell these stories to the whole world and give a voice to Ukrainian heroes,” said Daria Slobodianyk, editor of Vogue UA’s culture section.