#47_1-8

8
No.47 SEPTEMBER 20, 2018
TIMEO U T
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
All of Ukraine represented at a photo exhibition
Why
I participate
in the annual
Den’s
International
Photo Contest
THE HERO GAMES
By Ivan ANTYPENKO, The Day, Kherson,
photos by the author
Ihad good fortune to get acquainted with Den’s
International Photo Contest when it was in its solemn
stage, that is, the award ceremony for the winners. It
is held annually in late fall. Well-lit hall, live music,
living legends of Ukrainian culture, journalism, and politics
in attendance and... a few hundred beautiful photos.
It seems that you can stand for hours peering at any single
picture, pondering over its contexts, explicit and hidden
meanings. But one wants to see all the works and find out
who has received the Grand Prix. Therefore, people pass
around the hall several times, choose their favorite and immerse
themselves in the festive atmosphere. Hundreds of
stories are on display at the photo exhibition. They include
wonderful Ukrainian landscapes, portraits with a strong
character, depicting mine and factory workers as well as government
officials and presidents, and lucky takes on all the
key events that took place in this country over the past year.
Here I realized that the winners of this contest were
selected in a special way. As Den’s editor-in-chief Larysa
Ivshyna said, they chose for the exhibition “those pictures
where there is something more than just a photo.” She
meant emotion, look, occasion, color, symbolism, mood, and
personality...
I first took part in Den’s photo contest not as a spectator
but as an author in 2016. I selected a series of photos
taken during my trips along the border of Kherson Region
and Crimea, sent them to the organizers, and then suddenly
saw my picture among the winners. Among the thousands
of photos sent from all over Ukraine, several hundred
had been selected, and mine was among them. It was
already a victory. And next year, one of my photos won a
valuable gift from a partner of the photo exhibition. It was
an unexpected and pleasant sign of recognition.
Of course, this contest is most valuable because of its
mobility. Over its two-decade history, Den’s photo exhibition
has become a people’s mobile gallery. After the initial
show in Kyiv, the best photos get displayed in large
and small cities across Ukraine with the support of the publication’s
regional partners. More than a hundred away exhibitions
have already taken place. I call it “people’s exhibition”
because impressions and comments of the visitors
are always emotional and highly involved. These emotions
come from observing beauty, magnificence, and historicity
but at the same time, inferiority complex and partial
neglect present in this country. However, it is important
to remember that all these photofacts should be
used for reconsidering one’s ideas and correcting one’s mistakes,
and not just for contemplation. In addition, Den’s
photo exhibition’s tour of our provinces is always a serious
cultural event. For local residents, this is also a virtual
journey through Ukraine enabled by photos. It is an
opportunity to see other people like oneself and explore new
places, which, in fact, are very close. Just look around. Den
offers such an opportunity and suggests where to look.
Should you ask if it is worth taking part in Den’s photo
contest, I will answer “Yes” without a shadow of doubt.
Personally, I have already selected a number of this
year’s works and will offer them for the professional jury’s
consideration. I think they will give a fair evaluation
to all the participants and select the works that really deserve
to get to the “front page.”
I wish all participants success! Most importantly, you
should not doubt yourself.
Oleksandra Koval speaks about “climate creation”
Continued from page 2 ➤
“Now the situation has slowed down a bit, because
such an artificial excitement needs constant support. The
wave of enthusiasm is receding and Russian books have
started to reenter the market. They enter not so much
legally, across borders, because the ban is still in force,
but through the good services of Ukrainian ‘pirates’ who
‘pirate’ Russian paper and electronic books and reprint
them here. And we need a coordinated effort of law-enforcement
agencies to combat it.”
● “WE NEED TO BUILD A TRUST SYSTEM”
You have been selected as director of the Ukrainian Book
Institute. What challenges do you see? And what are you planning
to do?
“It is all very complicated. I feel the hopes that many people
have placed on my service in this position: both those who
know me and those who have only heard of me. I just do not
know what changes they expect, what should happen to satisfy
them.
“One should understand that as a director of a government
institution, I will have to deal primarily with other officials.
So, I have to forget that I have ideas on some events or
programs. I just have to promote it all. And this is an extremely
difficult path. In particular, there will be no Ukrainian Book
program this year, because it has been delayed so much that
there is no way for it to be done now. And now it is necessary
to use this saved sum for the program of library purchases.
Money has been allocated for it, but it cannot be spent because
there are still some two documents missing. Nobody knows why
the responsible officials do not sign them. So this program is
now under threat as well. I will try to rectify the situation. For
this purpose, I will have to work with legislators, because it
is probably necessary to change something in the relevant laws.
By the way, the entire culture domain public procurement system
needs huge changes, because these systems in this country
are based on the assumption that each manager is a
wannabe criminal who will necessarily break some norm or another.
So first of all, we need to build this trust system, and
then everything will become much easier, it seems to me.”
● “BOOKS FOR LIBRARIES SHOULD BE
PURCHASED BY THE LIBRARIES
THEMSELVES”
How is procurement going now, and what needs to be
changed?
“Now the list of books that are purchased for libraries
should be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. And despite the
fact that, for example, Sumy and Odesa regions have different
needs, the same books are purchased for everyone. And it is very
worrying to me. I believe that books for libraries should be purchased
by the libraries themselves. It should be done locally,
where they are, because only the local librarian knows which book
may be interesting to readers in this specific village. Also, books
should be purchased not once a year, but as soon as a new one
appears, for the situation is currently as follows: for example,
a good book appeared in the beginning of the year, people do express
interest in it, but the librarian has to wait for it until the
year is out, when the readers’ interest has already moved to something
else. What I propose, meanwhile, is for the librarian who
had read or got told that a new book appeared to be able to order
it and receive the book two days later. And the whole village
will start reading. So, in terms of procurement, we need
decentralization and localization of funding.”
By Maria CHADIUK, The Day
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