Exhibition of Ukrainian queer art “We are here.”
01.06.–01.07.2025

“We are here.” is a joint project of the ARTbasement of the Kharkiv Municipal
Gallery and PrideHub, dedicated to Pride Month. The artists whose works are presented in the exhibition became finalists of the Open Call, which covered almost all
regions of Ukraine and a wide variety of techniques: oil painting, pastel and watercolor graphics, textiles, installation, photography, video art, performance, etc.
Most of the works in the exhibition are united by the motif of inner searches, deep personal stories conveyed through emotional poetic images. Self-portraits, nude nature or reflections on themselves through bizarre masks or text – 13 artists enter into a difficult dialogue with the audience about identity. “We are here.” is a reflection. These works of art are a journey, with waiting at gas stations, potholes in the asphalt, sharp turns, idiots on the road, sleeping in the car. “We are here.” is a challenge. A reminder that once rejected people stand up and continue to fight for their right to exist. “We are here.” is the courage to face ourselves and society, good and bad, face to face. “During Pride Month, we celebrate diversity, but we also do not forget about the challenges that the LGBTQ+ community faces every day. Visibility is an important step towards creating a progressive and European society. When LGBTQ+ people have the ability to speak openly about themselves, it helps us understand that they are not some abstract people, but real people: our friends, acquaintances, relatives. With this exhibition, we give queer artists the opportunity to tell their stories and share their own experiences,” says the PrideHub team. “The Municipal Gallery has always been a space of freedom and challenge, from the moment of its founding in 1996, it was the art of the new world. “We are here.” — not the first ARTbasement exhibition dedicated to LGBTQ+, it continues the long-standing tradition of celebrating June as Pride Month, this time with an Open Call, a festive opening, lectures and other events,” the ARTbasement team notes.

Project artists:
Pavlo Dubinin Inst. @theworstwebperson
Amalia Komyz Inst. @amaliiakomyz
Olena Kovalenko Inst. @lugosipaint
Viktoria Malik Inst. @vvikmma
Maria Mudrak Inst. @luminousartifact
Mura
Natalia Oliferovich Inst. @nataliia_olif
Sergiy Romashko Inst. @rmshk.wav
Marina Chaika Inst. @mare.chaika
Dmytro Khodorchuk Inst. @dmytrokhodorchuk
Nastya Shcherban Inst. @shche.creates
Elena Kikteva Inst. @kikteva_e_lena
Sofia Vinokur Inst. @vynokur.art
Vladislava Tovstyk Inst. @vlada.tov
Oleksa Struk Inst. @svit_tanoc
Anastasia Lamkh Inst. @nasofitti
Maria Zelenkova Inst. @ha0mas
Marichka Fonaryova Inst. @mllieli
Vyacheslav Bocharov Inst. @cry_of_loneliness

Exhibition curators:
Daria Gerasimova
Inst. @gerasimova.dariia
Evgeny Danylenko
Inst. @danylenko_now

Organizers:
Stanislava Petlytsia
Inst. @stanislavahennadiyivna
Yakiv Lavrynets
Inst. @ysh_fsh