At the National Centre of Folk Culture “Ivan Honchar Museum”, two exhibitions have opened to mark the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster: the photo exhibition “Lina Kostenko in Chornobyl Expeditions” and the historical and ethnographic exhibition “Chornobyl: Rescued Treasures of Polissia.” These exhibitions present the Chornobyl region not solely as a site of tragedy, but as a space of memory and culture. The project as a whole reflects preserved heritage that continues to speak through the voice of Polissia across the decades following the disaster.
- “Lina Kostenko in Chornobyl Expeditions”
The photo exhibition reveals a lesser-known chapter of Lina Kostenko’s life — her participation in Chornobyl expeditions.
Visitors are presented with a chronicle of 30 years of field research, including scholarly work, landscapes, architecture, and artefacts.
A particularly distinctive part of the exhibition features photographs of Lina Kostenko during expeditions to the exclusion zone: selecting archival materials from abandoned buildings, identifying ethnographic monuments, engaging with residents who returned to their homes, and conducting daily work in field conditions. The exhibition portrays her not only as a poet, but also as a thoughtful interlocutor, a witness, and a co-creator of cultural memory.
- “Chornobyl: Rescued Treasures of Polissia”
The 1986 disaster profoundly altered the fate of Polissia and placed its cultural heritage at risk. The historical and ethnographic exhibition “Chornobyl: Rescued Treasures of Polissia” is dedicated to preserving the ethnocultural heritage of the region affected by the Chornobyl catastrophe.
Researchers covered more than 700 villages and 97 resettled communities. The exhibition presents unique rescued artefacts of the region’s folk culture, including household items, traditional clothing, interiors, works of art, and crafts of Polissia, as well as song folklore and video materials.
As part of the exhibition project, the following events are planned:
• public lectures by scholars;
• meetings with researchers of Polissia;
• performances by folklore groups;
• workshops on traditional crafts.
The exhibitions will run until 31 May 2026 at the National Centre of Folk Culture “Ivan Honchar Museum”,
19 Lavrska Street, Kyiv.
Opening hours: 10:00–18:00 (Wednesday–Sunday); closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Admission: ticketed (with exemptions for certain categories).
