Fired museums

Cultural life in the self -proclaimed republics is barely glowing, but still it is

During the hostilities from Donetsk and Lugansk, it was not possible to evacuate cultural values. Some of the museums suffered from shelling, and now they are closed to visitors. Museum employees are forced to master new forms of work. They do this, despite the lack of funding.

Most of all went to the Donetsk local history museum. Its roof and walls in August were destroyed as a result of the artillery steering. Some of the exhibits died, it turned out to be even more under the rubble, now they are cleared by volunteers, saving what can be saved. In general, on social networks on the pages of the museums of Donetsk and Lugansk, the wish is most often found "Hold on!" In Russian and in Ukrainian "trim!"

Last year, the Lugansk Museum of Local Lore took place “Depressurmetization of the Museum Universe” : artists from different cities of Ukraine then took care of the search for new forms of exhibition display and the broken stereotypes. Now it’s not up to actual art, cultural life is barely warm. Thus, the Lugansk Museum of History and Culture began the renewal of work with modest visiting lessons in schools. A researcher at this museum Julia Zlynko says that traditional excursions in the main building are now impossible:

When hostilities began, we began to clean everything in the stock

- Our museum was injured during hostilities in the city of Lugansk. True, our branches (this is the literary museum of Vladimir Dahl and the Museum-apartment of the writer Titov) are accepted by visitors.

- I saw frightening shots, a large hole in the facade wall of your museum. Does it still exist?

- Yes, it exists, but now the issue of eliminating this damage is already raised. Humanitarian help came. We are waiting for the start of repairs.

- When this wall was destroyed, did your collection suffer?

- Of course, there are some exhibits that have suffered. But these are mainly furniture. We could not remove it, but these are literally two exhibits. The rest is intact. When hostilities began, we began to clean everything in the stock.

- In the middle of summer, there was talk that it was worth evacuating cultural values from the territories where the battles are going on. Was this not concerned your museum?

- We received such an order to familiarize the researchers and the museum staff with the fact that the museum is completely evacuated. We even made up the corresponding lists. But it did not reach the export.

- What do output museum lessons look like? After all, you can hardly bring genuine exhibits to schools.

- Why? There are some exhibits that we have the right to show. Of course, these are not bulky objects, this is something small. For example, we have a museum lesson for elementary grades, which is called "Calligraphy lesson. Old Lugansk." We talk about what training was until 1917. We show children gymnasium notebooks of the early twentieth century, inkwells, metal and goose feathers. Children are happy to consider this and even try to write their name and surname with metal feathers, ”reports Julia Zlynko .

Cultural life in the self -proclaimed republics is barely glowing, but still it is

In the building of the Donetsk Art Museum, says its director Galina Chumak , a shock wave over the summer broke the windows twice. The damage is not as great as the colleagues, but he also affected the work of the cultural institution:

We are now shooting. The danger is around the clock. We work without a salary. We do not receive salaries, do not get a pension

- The main thing is that with the collection, including the collection of classical painting, everything is in order. Everything is in the funds. But today we need to repair 9 windows. The question is how to repair them, where to find funds. We are not open to visitors, because still the temperature and humidity regime is disturbed. We also had problems with the fact that not all researchers went to work. Someone must take excursions. And do not forget that there were still no students in Donetsk, there were no schoolchildren. The city was empty. Now he has already filled with people. And still, so far a lot is very problematic. Exhibitions must be done in the daytime, because transport goes, but in distant areas are not very good. People from them cannot reach, and we work not all working days.

-Due to what is more dangerous in the evening?

- That's not the point. We are talking with you in the afternoon, but now we are shooting. The danger is around the clock. The fact is that we work without salary. We do not receive salaries, we do not receive pensions. Since July, we have been working for free. I can’t make people work for free a whole working day. Moreover, after 5 hours, the problem here is to leave. Yes, people already have no money to go to work. If minibuses, then this must be paid. And municipal transport does not go everywhere. In particular, in those areas where they bomb, does not go.

- You said that not all employees went to work. Did they leave the city, or simply do not come to the museum?

My task is to preserve our wonderful collection and save the team

- Now everyone in the city is coming. In the summer everyone left, the whole city almost left. Only those who could not leave-someone has nowhere to go, someone has nothing to go for. Museum workers left and have already returned, but not all. Some people are afraid for themselves, others for loved ones. Still others do not want to live in the DPR. Everyone has different reasons. Our restorer of painting is constantly at work in the museum, but the restorer of graphics is now in Kyiv, because it cannot afford ... The child has gone to the 1st grade. She does not want the child to study in the DPR. This is her choice.

- What do you intend to do next in the absence of funding? What do you think to hold out? Who to demand money?

“I think that the DPR should take care.” I was at the appointment with the acting Minister of Culture. She spoke not only about salary, but also about life, repair, protection. Because first of all, my task is to maintain our wonderful collection, to preserve the team.

- And what did you hear in response?

- We will help you, tolerate a little. So we suffer.

- When specifically they will help? Was it about any time?

- No. They must deal with everything else. The museum is not in the first place. But I already said, I say and will always say: the museum’s task is to collect, preserve, study, and then popularize. Now we have a fourth of these areas. Nevertheless, the museum now has great new arrivals. Graphics alone - 1000 items! There are also several dozen objects of decorative and applied art.

- Where could new arrivals come from in such a difficult period? You don’t have money for the windows, not like purchases.

- Gifts. I came up with this. By the way, the situation was absolutely wonderful. When we had an explosion on June 11, the next morning I stand and consider this horror, and then my former subordinate with two heavy bags is suitable. She brought us as a gift to a luxurious private collection of Ex -liters of our largest collector. I still came up with this in the spring, found it, asked to talk with my family to give us a gift to the 75th anniversary of our museum. And it was necessary that she arrived the day after the explosion. For me, this is a life -affirming sign. And at present, the museum is preparing an exhibition for Christmas.

“You hope that visitors can already come to her?”

- I do not hope, I know that we will already work. But this will not be a traditional exhibition. We are now developing a new direction, preparing in the computer version a tour of our halls: Russian, ancient, Ukrainian and decorative and applied. The projection will be in this one hall on a large laser screen. As soon as technically everything is ready, we will open the museum. Only while I can’t even buy an extra disk. In order to prepare this, I brought all my reserves from the house for a long time.

-That is, the original will still be in the storage?

- Certainly! I cannot put them in the current circumstances. But we will work because no one has canceled the culture yet, ”says Galina Chumak .