The War Childhood Museum Ukraine takes part in one of the country’s most prominent literary events—the International Book Arsenal Festival in Kyiv—by presenting a special pop-up exhibition.
About the Festival
Organized annually by Mystetskyi Arsenal, the International Book Arsenal Festival is a key cultural event in Ukraine that brings together the book, literary, and artistic scenes. Each year, more than 150 Ukrainian publishers showcase their work, and the festival regularly welcomes leading Ukrainian authors such as Yuriy Andrukhovych, Serhiy Zhadan, Oksana Zabuzhko, among others.
War Childhood Museum Ukraine Pop-Up Exhibition
At the 13th edition of the festival, which opened on Thursday, May 29, the War Childhood Museum Ukraine presents a special exhibition titled Books That Walk With You Through War. This project explores the role books and reading play in offering comfort, strength, and connection during times of war.
The exhibition presents the stories of 12 Ukrainian children and teenagers, collected by the War Childhood Museum Ukraine, along with the books connected to their stories.
“Though the backdrop of this exhibition is war, it differs from all we’ve done before,” says Svitlana Osipchuk, Program Director of the War Childhood Museum Ukraine and curator of the exhibition. “At the center of these stories are books—many of which have entered our museum’s archive in recent years. From fantasy to thrillers, from Stephen King to Machiavelli, from school textbooks to the Ukrainian Constitution.
With this exhibition, we wanted to give children and teenagers a chance to respond to the common adult claim that the new generation no longer reads. Oh, but they do! And their stories and books speak for themselves.”
The exhibition is open from May 29 to June 1 at the Mystetskyi Arsenal National Art and Culture Museum Complex (10–12 Lavrska St., 01010, Kyiv).
