From 07 July to 15 July 2022, a cultural hub DOOR OPEN SPACE at Amsterdam (TT Vasumweg 31), hosts an exhibition “The Captured House” — 200 works by contemporary ukrainian artists who continue to create the art during the war and documenting the humanitarian disaster in Ukraine caused by russia’s attack and they encourage the international public to speak of Europe as "our common home".

The title “The Captured House” refers to the story “The Captured House” by the Argentinian writer Julio Cortázar. An unknown Evil, inch by inch, occupies the protagonist’s house, whose protagonist is forced to leave the place where he had lived all his life.

“Every month we have been holding an exhibition in different European cities. The Captured House has already taken place in Berlin, Rome, and now is about to open it in Amsterdam. We believe that art — is a way to tell the truth rather than just shock with the news — says Katya Taylor, the curator of the project. — We don’t just talk to the wide general audience, but strive to build the dialogue with every visitor personally. Our goal — is to prove that war is not an abstraction, not a page in a history book or a photo in a news story. War — is a personal and profound experience that has changed the lives of 44 million Ukrainians”.

With over 200 works including painting and graphics, photographs, sculptures and installations “The Captured House” is the artistic interpretation of 50 brave contemporary Ukrainian authors who narrate the catastrophe, escape and bewilderment through their works, with which they documented in real-time war in Ukraine.

Alevtyna Kakhidze, Vlada Ralko, Dariia Koltsova, Mikhail Ray, Kinder Album, Evgeniy Maloletka, Maks Levin, Gamlet Zinkivskyi, Ihor Husev, Masha Shubina, Zolotar (Oleksiі Zolotariov), Stas Zhalobniuk, Volodymyr Budnikov are just some of the names of the exhibition. After the Russian attack, many of these artists remained to work in the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kherson and Donetsk and their works exhibited today in Amsterdam saw the light during the invasion.

The exhibition is promoted and organized by the cultural management agency from Kyiv PORT. in collaboration with DOOR Foundation at Door Open Space with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine and sees the involvement of the State Agency of Ukraine for Art and Art Education.

“On June 23, Ukraine received the status of a EU candidate and this is a historic moment. Every day Ukrainians feel the support of Europe and there is no fatigue of Europeans from Ukraine — these narratives are imposed by russia. However, the main goal has not yet been achieved — we must work together to stop russia, the country that continues to kill Ukrainians, occupy our territories and commit war crimes — says Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine — By using the language of art to tell about war, we prevent the Russian threat and encourage people of the European Union to keep helping Ukraine and supporting Ukrainians by all possible means. ”

“Today millions of Ukrainians witness the making of history. History that we will pass on to future generations. Nonetheless, the course of these events depends on the whole world. What Ukraine now embodies is the shield that doesn't let the enemy move forward. That is why helping our state means contributing to our shared secure future”, says Oleksandr Tkachenko, the Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.

What: “The Captured House” exhibition
Where: Amsterdam, NDSM, DOOR OPEN SPACE, TT Vasumweg 31

Opening ceremony: 6 July, 2022, 19:00

When: 7-15 July, 2022
Opening hours
Mon-Sat: 14:00 — 21:00
Sun: 12:00 — 18:00
Free entrance

Website: https://thecapturedhouse.com
The event page on Facebook: https://cutt.ly/IKGcz4M
Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/thecapturedhouse/
Photo: Artworks

*PORT. — Cultural management agency. It was founded in Kyiv in 2017 by the curator Kate Taylor. The company has organized dozens of art projects on socially important topics with the UN Women, UNICEF, EUACI in Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, and other international and Ukrainian organizations. In 2022, Kate Taylor established the Artists Support Ukraine foundation, which helps Ukrainian artists in hot spots since the start of the full-scale invasion.

More information about some authors…

Someone spoke about everyday life, like Anton Logov in his work entitled “Drawings on the full-scale war in Ukraine”; others have documented the exodus of the displaced people such as Hanna Hrabarska who together with her mother have left the own home to escape to another city; Zolotar (Oleksiі Zolotariov) started a drawing diary from the first day of the war. In the alarming black figures one finds not only images of the enemy, but also Ukrainian houses in ruin and destinies of his mutilated compatriots. The images cry out the crisis of humanity. At the moment the artist moved to Berlin where he lives and works.

Evheniy Maloletka was in Mariupol at the beginning of the invasion and decided to stay in Ukraine. His photos are among the few testimonies of Russia's crimes against civilians. Thanks to these pictures, the world witnessed the demolished buildings, the work of the medical teams operating in inhuman conditions and death.

Maks Levin saw the war in eastern Ukraine. He was killed by the Russians in Guta-Mezhigirska, in the Kiev region. His photos on display portray the evacuation from Irpin and military in eastern Ukraine the first week of the large-scale russian invasion .

Alevtina Kakhidze experienced the tragedy in the village of Muzychi (Kiev region) with her husband and his work speaks of "generalization", an aspect that is now the rule in Ukraine. Whoever and whatever can be wiped out, human beings, opinions, good deeds as well as trees, animals and houses can be destroyed at any time.

Masha Shubina was in her art studio in Kiev with her husband, the artist Ilya Chychkan, when it all started. It is among those artists who was able to resume her work only one time back home, after more than a month of travel: the embroidered handkerchiefs that remember the home environment and his daily life have become the "canvas" of his experiences of war.