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First in Ukraine Photo Exhibition for the Blind, Touch and See, Unveiled with Support of Ukraine 3000 International Charitable Foundation

May 13, 2008, the Ukrainian House in Kyiv hosted the unveiling ceremony of Ukraine’s first photo exhibition for the blind people, Touch and See. The idea and the photos belong to Yuri Bilak, Ukrainian photo artist, with the support of the Ukraine 3000 International Charitable Foundation, Open Ukraine Fund, and the Embassy of France to Ukraine.

A press conference was held, dedicated to the exhibition unveiling, with the participation of Head of the Board of Directors of the Ukraine 3000 International Charitable Foundation Oleksandr Maksymchuk, photo artist Yuri Bilak, Director of the Open Ukraine Fund Oruysia Lutsevych, and Braille corrector with the Ukrainian Association of the Blind People’s Sound Recording and Publishing House Volodymyr Poteliakhin.

Addressing the audience, Mr. Maksymchuk said that the Ukraine 3000 Foundation puts a great emphasis on changing the attitude toward people with special needs in the society, creating possibilities for their integration into normal life, and involving them into the art process. “This exhibition is a graphic evidence of how, with the help of modern technologies, art becomes accessible to all who is willing to become familiar with it,” he said, adding that Head of the Supervisory Board of the Ukraine 3000 International Charitable Foundation Kateryna Yushchenko eagerly agreed to record soundtracks for several photos. “This is an interesting experience, enabling one to see and feel something we normally perceive through our vision in a different way,” he said.

Speaking about the idea to create a tactile photo exhibition, Mr. Bilak said he was inspired by innovative technologies used in French museums. “To let blind people understand my pictures, we had to invent a new language, disengaging ourselves from light, shade, color, and especially perspective,” the artist said. “That’s how the tactile photos were born: transparent 3D photos made of polymeric materials. In his words, the comments accompanying the photos “help to grasp them, creating the photo’s atmosphere and aura.”

In her turn, Ms. Lutsevych said that the Open Ukraine Fund was honored to support this noble project. “Ukraine’s reputation is measured with the society’s attitude toward its members, primarily, its most vulnerable groups,” she said. Ms. Orysia said that blind people in all Ukraine’s regions will have a chance to “see” the exhibition, calling on philanthropists to support this project.

Touch and See is the first photo exhibition for the blind in Ukraine. It displays 30 3D photos from Yuri Bilak’s “Ukrainians” series. Every color photo is coupled with its tactile replica, a transparent embossed file made of polymers.

Every work is accompanied with a soundtrack describing the picture. They were recorded by prominent Ukrainian politicians and artists: Kateryna Yushchenko, Arseny Yatseniuk, Volodymyr Hryshko, Nina Matviyenko, Oleh Skrypka, Foma of the Mandry rock group, Oleh Pinchuk, Olha Herasimyuk, Sashko Polozhynsky, Olha Sumska, Bohdan Beniuk, Oksana Bilozir, Mykola Veresen’, Yuri Makarov, et. al.

The presentation ceremony will take place May 19, 2008, at 5:00 p.m. It is planned that it will be attended by Kateryna Yushchenko, Arseny Yatseniuk, other celebrities recording the soundtracks, members of the Ukrainian Association of the Blind People, etc.