A timely exhibition at the Godfrey Dean Art Gallery chronicles posters used during the EuroMaidan (Independence Square) protests in Kyiv, Ukraine that led to the current standoff in eastern Europe.
The movement was instigated when Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych backed away a key European Union trade deal favoured by many Ukrainians in favour of closer ties with Russia.
"At the time, circulating on Lyiv's EuroMaidan were poster images that captured the energy and vitality of the transformative process that was occurring," said Professor Bhodan Kordan, director of the Prairie Centre for the Study of Ukrainian Heritage, who curated the exhibit. "Designed and created for mass distribution through the medium of the private printer, they testify to a deep desire for change and are symbolic of the best impulses of a society mobilizing in its own defense [sic]."
Apparently the collection of 50 posters has had very mixed reactions. An attendant at the gallery said visitors reactions have ranged from strongly positive to strongly negative.
Donald Stein, director of the Dean Gallery, said it is an important exhibition for Yorkton.
"This is a timely exhibition, one that speaks to the concerns of our community but also to a wider audience which is deeply interested in recent developments in Ukraine," he said.
The exhibition runs Monday through Saturday until May 24.
