The War on War Photography Exhibit
In August – November 2015, the Technopolis GS memorial park visitors had an opportunity to visit the War on War photography exhibit. The format of a unique open-air exhibit brought to life the artistic interpretation of the photo heritage of WWI and WWII. The objective of the exhibit was to tell the audience about the everyday life of those on the frontline, as well as those who worked on the home front. There were 66 photographs and postcards with handwritten inscriptions dating back to the time of WWI and WWII, including photos from various museum collections and home archives, most of which have never been presented before. Among them were photographs from the State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia, the Russian State Documentary Film and Photo Archive, the Kaliningrad Regional Museum of History and Arts, the Kaliningrad Photo Artists Union, Kaliningrad Regional Veterans Center, Gusev Local History Museum named after A.M. Ivanov, as well as the private collection of D. Dunaevsky. Over 1,000 people visited the War on War exhibit while it was open.
“The War on War Exhibit, an artistic interpretation of two world wars, quotes in its name the book that was published right after the end of World War I and which was banned in Germany. Many know these tragic events by stereotype photo or movie frames that embody pride, honor, or victory. But a war is always a war, with its complicated, sometimes barely discernible boundary between us and them, between a friend and an enemy. In this exhibit, I wanted to address just a regular person who at some point found themselves facing a vital choice: which side to choose. And to ask my contemporaries yet again, ’what lessons can we draw from history?’” said the exhibit curator Alexey Shinkarenko.
In November 2015, the photography project War on War won the annual Support of Tourist-Attracting Events (Growth of Event Tourism) Competition of the Kaliningrad Region Tourism Department.
