Together with the Stiftung West-Östliche Begegnungen (West-Eastern Encounters Foundation), Galerie Buchkunst Berlin is presenting the touching and poetic photographs by Ukrainian photographer Ruslan Hrushchak from his series “The Road Beyond”. The opening reception will take place on Thursday, May 12, 2022 from 6 – 10 pm in the Galerie Buchkunst Berlin and will be accompanied by a comprehensive program. We cordially invite you to the opening reception.

In »The Road Beyond« Ruslan Hrushchak’s photographs take us to the people and places of his homeland, Ukraine, which he left twenty years ago. Following an inner impulse, he began photographing his family, relatives and friends in western Ukraine and the Carpathians. He continues to follow their footsteps, a branching network of roots of memory that stretches across the country: a journey in search of happiness. The biographies and stories tell of the life plans in a country and also in a Europe that, as we knew it and are still looking at here, will no longer exist. The photographer’s journey becomes a return to a time without destruction, without fear of sirens and rocket attacks. The photographs refer to the promise of a peaceful life and the freedom to shape one’s own future. This promise has to be redeemed again. The everyday observations and portraits describe the trust of those portrayed and the familiar that the photographer has encountered again after a long time. This trust on both sides of the camera is inherent in Ruslan Hrushchak’s photographs. For the first time, the series will now be shown in a comprehensive selection in Berlin from May 13 to June 18, 2022.

Together with the photographer and the Stiftung West-Östliche Begegnungen, a limited poster edition with two different motifs will be designed for the exhibition. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to a charity for the people of Ukraine. 20% of the proceeds from book sales are also donated.

Framework program

Thursday, May 12, 2022, 6 – 10 pm
Opening Reception
6 pm: Champagne reception
6:30 pm: Welcome
Jelena V. Hoffmann, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the Stiftung West-Östliche Begegnungen
Irmgard Maria Fellner, Commissioner for Foreign Cultural Policy at the Federal Foreign Office
Artist Talk: Ruslan Hrushchak & Thomas Gust (Buchkunst Berlin)
7:30 pm: Book Signing & Fundraising for Ukraine
6 – 10 pm: Buffet at the Hummus & Friends restaurant.
Musical accompaniment by DJ Yuriy Gurzhy, musician, DJ, producer and author. Along with the writer Wladimir Kaminer he initiated the legendary party series Russendisko.

Saturday, June 18, 2022, 5 – 8 pm
Finissage

May 22 — June 30, 2022
Accompanying virtual exhibition
The virtual exhibition THE ROAD BEYOND UKRAINE 2010–2020 will be on view online from May 22 — June 30, 2022 at stiftung-woeb.de and buchkunst-berlin.de, and will be accompanied by guided tours on ZOOM and curator’s talks.
Details

Stiftung West-Östliche Begegnungen

The Stiftung West-Östliche Begegnungen (West-Eastern Encounters Foundation) promotes encounters between people from Germany and the countries of Eastern Europe, the Baltic States and Central Asia. It wants to support intercultural learning, deepen East-West communication and competence and strengthen civil society commitment. The foundation links its work with the idea of ​​inter-societal cooperation for peace and rapprochement.

GALERIE BUCHKUNST BERLIN and RESTAURANT HUMMUS & FRIENDS

Oranienburger Straße, home to the Hummus & Friends restaurant and the Galerie Buchkunst Berlin, has always been a place of exchange between different cultures and traditions in people’s everyday lives. Here, between the Scheunenviertel and the Spandauer Vorstadt, Berlin was a melting pot of nations and Jewish life at the beginning of the 20th century. New artistic positions were tested in the galleries and the avant-garde was exhibited. Together with the restaurant Hummus & Friends, the Galerie Buchkunst Berlin wants to take up these impulses and sees itself as a place of exchange and encounter, where art and life enter into an open dialogue.

PHOTOBOOK

With the photographs of Ruslan Hrushchak, the photobook “The Road Beyond” has been published by Kominek Books and is available in the gallery.
THE ROAD BEYOND
RUSLAN HRUSHCHAK
Poems: Iryna Tsilyk
Language: English or Ukrainian
120 pages + 20 pages of parchment paper
Hard cover: 225 x 230 mm
KOMINEK PUBLISHING
50,00 €
ISBN 978-3-9819824-9-7

May 13 — June 18, 2022
Opening Day: Thursday, May 12, 2022, 6 – 10 pm
+ Framework program: please see above

Galerie Buchkunst Berlin

Oranienburger Straße 27 · 10117 Berlin
[District: Mitte | Borough: Mitte]

Opening hours: Thu – Sat 2 – 6 pm,
and by appointment: +49 30 218 025 40 | 

Admission free