On August 3 at 5:00 p.m., the IZOLYATSIA. Platform for Cultural Initiatives invites you to an online presentation of the book *The Salt of My Land*—a participatory photography project by Alexandra Claude, created in collaboration with women from the Soledar community.
This project explores memory, home, and the experience of forced displacement. From January through May 2026, photographer and psychologist Alexandra Claude, a native of Donetsk, conducted a series of photography workshops with women who were forced to leave the Soledar community due to the full-scale Russian invasion.
Working with disposable film cameras, the participants captured what helps them maintain a connection to home: self-portraits, loved ones, important places, and objects. For many of them, these photographs became a way to reconstruct their own history after losing their family archives during the evacuation.
The book *Salt of My Land* combines photographs, personal testimonies, and reflections on home, family, forced displacement, and life after loss. It is an important documentary record that preserves the memory of the Soledar community and forms part of the collective memory of the Donetsk region and Ukraine.
The event program includes:
- a presentation of the “Heritage: Space for Work” program;
- a talk by the curator on the methodology of the residency program;
- a book presentation by the author, Alexandra Claude;
- reflections from project participants;
- a question-and-answer session.
The event will take place online at 5:00 p.m. on August 3, 2026. Participation is free with prior registration.
Registration: https://platform.izolyatsia.org/ua/events/salt-of-my-earth/
We invite everyone interested to join the presentation and learn about the stories of women from the Soledar community who, through photography, were able to preserve the memory of their home and their identity.
This project is implemented as part of the “Heritage: Space for Work” capacity-building and networking program for local cultural actors, supported by the “Partnership for a Strong Ukraine” (PFRU) Program.
Based on materials from the Soledar City Council