To mark the 160th anniversary of the M.B. Grekov Odesa Art Professional College — one of Ukraine’s oldest art institutions — a new exhibition titled “Bridge of Revival” will open its doors to the public, offering a profound reflection on Ukraine’s cultural resilience and artistic continuity.
The exhibition, hosted at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Odesa, explores two pivotal waves of Ukrainian cultural revival: the first, interrupted by Soviet repressions, and the second, sparked by the country’s independence in 1991.
Through this lens, the curators invite visitors to trace how Grekov College’s professors and graduates have preserved and transformed the language of Ukrainian art across generations.
The display is structured as a symbolic bridge uniting past and present, with two key sections:
- The Classics of Grekovka — Featuring works by faculty members who upheld modernist traditions during the totalitarian era, often against great odds.
- Contemporary Names — Highlighting the post-1991 generation of graduates who are shaping the artistic landscape of Odesa and Ukraine today.
The exhibition brings together paintings, graphics, photography, ceramics, and archival materials from the college’s collection, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Odesa (МСМО), and private collections. This carefully curated body of work forms a living bridge between epochs — not just of stylistic evolution, but of cultural endurance.
As the museum and college teams emphasize, this is more than an anniversary celebration — it’s an invitation to witness how a century-old art school has nurtured not only technique, but also a deep-seated resilience: the ability of art to respond to the challenges of its time while remaining true to itself.
The exhibition opens on June 19 at 16:00, with free entry on the first day. Visitors are warmly invited to explore this intergenerational dialogue and rediscover the role of Grekovka in shaping Ukraine’s artistic identity.
