The Donetsk Regional Art Museum, with the support of the Donetsk Regional State Administration and the Department of Culture and Tourism, held an art event — a regional art exhibition entitled “East: Level of Freedom.”
The project “East: Level of Freedom” was launched in 2021. This year, its implementation was made possible thanks to the joint efforts of the Donetsk Regional Art Museum and the Museum of Arts of the Carpathian Region. For three weeks, visitors will be able to see more than 70 paintings and graphic works by 23 artists from Donetsk region.
The exhibition brought together the region's artistic elite, including members of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine — Serhii Smetankin, Serhii Sadchikov, Oksana Hnatyshyn, Volodymyr Radkovsky, Volodymyr Baibara, Andriy Kutana, as well as experienced masters of painting and graphic art, teachers of art schools and studios. A special participant is the artist from Kramatorsk, Artur Novikov, who is currently defending Ukraine in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The exhibition also features 25 copies of works from the collection of the Donetsk Regional Art Museum, assembled after the institution resumed its activities in territory controlled by Ukraine in 2015. Visitors will also be able to see works from private collections, rescued by museum staff from areas of active combat.
The project emphasizes that Donetsk Oblast, like the rest of Ukraine, is unique not only for its remarkable historical sites, cultural heritage, and diverse landscapes, but also for the people who live and create on this land. The artists' works reflect the pain of the consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian war: destroyed natural landscapes, ravaged architectural monuments, and desecrated religious shrines.
Despite the pain and loss, the exhibition inspires confidence: the beauty of Ukrainian art and the richness of its culture are a cultural frontier of indestructibility that brings us closer to our common victory. A victory that will surely come to every corner of Ukraine and to our native Donetsk region.