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'People Of The Maidan’ Photo Exhibit In Hemming Park

Lindsey Kilbride
/
WJCT News
People Of The Maidan’ photo exhibit in Hemming Park until Saturday.";

Those who decide to take a walk in Jacksonville’s Hemming Park this week, may also learn about the Ukrainian Revolution of 2014 — that’s because there’s an outdoor photo exhibit on the subject.

Rows of photos are attached to tall metal fixtures in the park, across from Jacksonville City Hall. The exhibit is called “The People of the Maidan,” Maidan being the central square in Kiev, Ukraine’s capital.

The photos depict mass protests by pro-western hopefuls. As NPR reported, more than 100 were killed during the clashes.

One photo depicts two people warming their hands over a burning barrel, rubble behind them. There’s a quote under it: “People were dying so their children would have a future.”

Related: One year after Ukrainian Revolution of 2014 ( 2/23/15)

Related: 4 Things To Know About What's Happening In Ukraine (2/19/14)

The photographer, Sergey Melnikoff, escaped from the Soviet Union with his family and found asylum in the U.S.

Melnikoff was attracted by a visual transformation of stereotypically laidback and grounded Ukrainians into simultaneously fearless and fearful characters, deep, complex and admirable, according to a Friends of Hemming Park news release.

It also said the installation gives the audience an accurate understanding of those historic events in Ukraine. It also can be viewed as an effective cultural response to Russian propaganda.

The exhibit runs through Saturday, Nov, 18.

Lindsey Kilbride can be reached at lkilbride@wjct.org, 904-358-6359 or on Twitter at @lindskilbride.

Lindsey Kilbride was WJCT's special projects producer until Aug. 28, 2020. She reported, hosted and produced podcasts like Odd Ball, for which she was honored with a statewide award from the Associated Press, as well as What It's Like. She also produced VOIDCAST, hosted by Void magazine's Matt Shaw, and the ADAPT podcast, hosted by WJCT's Brendan Rivers.