Other events in Baltic States

From 8 May until 14 June 2015, as a part of the Riga Photomonth 2015 programme, a photography exhibition Euromaidan by Ukranian artists Vladislav Krasnoschok and Sergiy Lebedinsky will be held at the Creative Studio of the Arsenāls Exhibition Hall of the Latvian National Museum of Art in Riga (2nd floor, 1 Torņa Street).

Euromaidan refers to the protest movement directed against the Ukrainian government that begun on 21 October 2013. On 19 January 2014, the peaceful protests in Independence Square, Kiev, threatened to grow into a civil war. Explosions of grenades, Molotov cocktails, attacks of Berkut units on the activists, torture of the arrested activists – it had all gone too far. At this point, Vladislav Krasnoschok decided he cannot remain indifferent and outside of the events of the Euromaidan.

The project's works were created over the several days the artists Vladislav Krasnoschok and Sergiy Lebedinsky spent in Independence Square documenting the protests in Kiev. The aim of the photographers was not only to record the historical events, but also to demonstrate a deeply personal attitude and to be part of the protesters' commune, resulting in the conceptually and technologically unique exhibition and book Euromaidan.

In 2010, Vladislav Krasnoschok, Sergiy Lebedinsky and Vadim Trikoz founded the Shilo Group, an artist group in Kharkiv, Ukraine. The group's technologically unusual and conceptually critical, ironic methods relate well to its title, which can be translated as ‘The Awl Group’. The authors' photographs use the language of art to deal with social issues, giving a significant role to Ukraine's Soviet past that has left indelible marks on the Ukrainian way of life and culture in general.

Members of the Shilo Group are direct heirs of the distinctive Kharkhiv school of photography, whose one of the most vivid representatives is Boris Mikhailov. Recently, the artists' works have earned international recognition in the most significant photography festivals and fairs, including Fotofest 2012 in Houston, Paris Photo 2014 and Noorderlicht 2014.

Photobook Euromaidan was published by publishing house Riot Books in 2014 and was recognised as one of the best photobooks of the year in the prestigious Paris Photo–Aperture and the Kassel Photobook Festival competitions.