The FotoEvidence Association, in partnership with the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers (UAPP), has launched FotoEvidence Ukraine—an initiative to support Ukrainian photographers and contribute to the preservation of Ukrainian culture. This effort focuses on creating photobooks that document the Russian invasion of Ukraine since 2014, ensuring these records populate libraries and schools and preserve this history for future generations..

FotoEvidence Ukraine is supported by the Open Society Foundations and the Renaissance Foundation.

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 1,582 Ukrainian cultural sites, including 598 libraries, have been damaged. It is no secret that Putin’s goals are not purely territorial but cultural, to eliminate Ukraine as an independent nation and subjugate its culture to Russian dominance.

WHY BOOKS?

Books are familiar and accepted object at every level of society and around the world. The stories told in books communicate social issues beyond the front-page news and educate about the roots of conflicts and human rights violations. The book stays as evidence on shelves in homes and libraries keeping the stories that shaped the world. Books are often seen as threats and burned. FotoEvidence was created to keep memories and to inspire social change through the work we publish and promote.

Since the submission process began in August 2024, over 20 book proposals have been received from Ukrainian photographers documenting the ongoing Russian invasion. After careful deliberation, five authors have been shortlisted for their exceptional contributions to historical documentation: Gera Artemova, Lisa Bukreyeva, Serhii Korovayny, Viacheslav Ratynskyi, and Oleksandr Rupeta.

Two of these works will be published:

Photojournalists from Ukraine and around the world created powerful  visual narrative of this critical chapter in Ukraine's history. Their dedication sheds light on the complex realities of life amidst the ongoing Russian invasion, terror against civilians, and efforts at cultural eradication. FotoEvidence Ukraine will collect and publish visual stories documenting this period, with the goal of populating libraries and schools with books that preserve the story of this time for future generations.

Through the collection and distribution of extensive documentary material, FotoEvidence Ukraine aims to maintain global awareness of the Russian invasion, while also supporting Ukrainian culture by offering valuable resources for media, public discourse, and education for future generations.

By offering a platform for Ukrainian photographers to share their body of work documenting the Russian invasion with international audiences, the project will foster cultural entrepreneurship, bolster the growth of Ukraine's creative industries, and deliver essential historical documentation.

To bring the reality of war into communities, FotoEvidence Ukraine will mount traveling exhibits based on books we published. The book, Ukraine: A War Crime was presented during 19 different venues in Europe, including Ukraine and the US. Supported by the Open Society Foundations, an exhibit based on the book traveled in the Western Balkans, starting in Tirana, followed by Kosovo, Northern Macedonia, Bulgaria and Serbia.

We plan to establish collaboration with the National Library in Ukraine and the Ukrainian Ministry in Education to distribute the books to schools, libraries, and cultural centers.

Working with a Ukrainian team, FotoEvidence will bring to the support of Ukrainian visual storytellers over a decade of experience of  developing and publishing powerful photo books focused on human rights. The FotoEvidence Ukraine team includes 16 established Ukrainian and International photojournalists and photo editors with experience in storytelling and photo books. FotoEvidence has worked with most of them in previous publications on the war in Ukraine. Their task will be to bring stories that merit preservation in books and to guide the authors through the creative process.

Ultimately, every new author will become part of the team, a growing collaborative community of photojournalists working to document current history for the sake of future generations.

The FotoEvidence Ukraine Team will be led by Director, Svetlana Bachevanova. In Ukraine Project Menager is Olga Kovalova/UAPP and Menaging Editor, Irynka Hromotska.

The Collaborative Editorial Board includes: Paula Bronstein (USA),Maxim Dondyuk (UKR), Brendan Hoffman (USA), Oleksander Glyadyelov (UKR), Natalie Keyssar (USA), Serhii Korovayny (UKR), Olga Kovalova (UKR),  Sarah Leen (USA), Evgeniy Maloletka (UKR),   Sasha Maslov (UKR), Mykhaylo Palinchak (UKR),Oksana Parafeniuk (UKR), Danylo Pavlov (UKR), and Katerina Radchenko (UKR).

To celebrate FotoEvidence’s partnership with the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers we are working on our first publication: War Chronicles, a photo book developed by members of the UAPP in response to the challenges posed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine since 2014. The project systematically documents and preserves the chronicle of key events related to Russia's invasion, events marked by a profound impact on society and to preserve the story of Ukrainian’s resistance for future generations.

Starting August 5, 2024 FotoEvidence Ukraine will accept book proposals from Ukrainian photographers whose work focus on documenting the Russian invasion since 2014.

Proposals must be in the form of low-resolution PDF, that includes the statement of the work in English and Ukrainian, images, and a short explanation of your vision for the book.

FotoEvidence Ukraine welcomes submissions reflecting all aspects of Ukrainian culture including: personal diaries, coverage of the creative sector, underground events, minority cultures, the LGBQT+ community and, of course, conflict and collective resistance.  Our goal is to contribute to a chronicle of Ukrainian culture and creativity during this challenging period Ukraine’s history.

Email to: fotoevidence.ukraine@gmail.com

Deadline: November 30, 2024

Proposals will be reviewed in December 2024 and selected authors will be invited to discuss possible publication.

Creating a book is an educational process and one of FotoEvidence’s core activities to nurture photographers dedicated to producing long-form, humanistic stories.

In building a book FotoEvidence gives the photographer the opportunity to work with a creative team that includes the publisher, a photo editor, and a book designer.  The goal of this creative process is both to support the photographer in building a book that fulfills their vision and to produce a powerful book with emotional impact.

All FotoEvidence Ukraine books will be printed and bound in Ukraine.