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On November 5, 2023, the russian army launched a missile attack against Odesa. The attack damaged 33 residential buildings and 6 architectural monuments in the city. The shelling also damaged the building of the Odesa National Art Museum, which was built in 1826 and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On November 6, the museum celebrated its 124th anniversary. On this day, its employees were forced to record the damage and deal with the consequences of the shelling.
"At the first explosions, at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, we organized the removal of paintings in the museum. Almost the entire staff was there. We were also joined by artists who had recently either planned or had exhibitions with us. During the shelling, the museum had five temporary exhibitions."
The main collection of the museum, including 26 paintings and 3 graphic works by Ivan Aivazovsky, was evacuated on the first day of the full-scale invasion and is now located in a safe place. Since the war, the museum has held temporary exhibitions of contemporary artists. Fortunately, no paintings exhibited in the museum were damaged during the shelling on November 5.
This is not the first time the building of the Odesa National Art Museum has been damaged by the shelling. Restoration work is ongoing. UNESCO is assisting the museum staff in collecting evidence of Russian crimes against Ukraine's cultural heritage, and is providing the museum with financial assistance. On November 6, the organization publicly condemned another attack on Odesa.
Kateryna Kulai, the interim director of the Odesa National Art Museum, talks about the museum's life during the war, her belief in victory, and her creative plans.
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The Museum of Civilian Voices of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation https://civilvoicesmuseum.org/
