On the night of November 5-6, the historic center of Odesa, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List at the beginning of the year, was attacked by Russian drones and enemy Onyx and Iskander-M missiles.
Photo by the Odesa Regional Military Administration
Many architectural monuments were damaged, including the Odesa National Art Museum (OFAM).
Fortunately, there were no deaths or injuries among the museum's staff.
Photo by Ivan Strakhov, onfam.ua / facebook
According to the authors of the Architecture of Odesa project, the attack on the museum took place a few hours before its 124th anniversary. It was on November 6, 1899, on the initiative of Hryhorii Marazli that the city's Museum of Fine Arts was opened in a building on Sofiivska Street. The building itself was erected between 1824 and 1828.
Photo by the Odesa Regional Military Administration
The main staircase and "Shevchenko's Quantum Leap" by Oleksandr Grekhov above it
Photo by Ivan Strakhov, onfam.ua / facebook
These days, the first floor of the Odesa Art Museum is occupied by the exhibition cycle "Languages of War". Under this general title, one could see wooden sculptures by Volodymyr Semkiv, ceramics by Kinder Album, and works by other contemporary Ukrainian artists.
In addition, the museum exhibits watercolors by Borys Eisenberg, an architect, artist, and volunteer who defended the country as part of the 28th Brigade named after the Knights of the Winter Campaign and died in July of this year. "Flowers Behind the Dumps" is the title of a series of botanical drawings the soldier created near Bakhmut.
"Sol occidens". Paintings by Margit and Roman Selsky from the collection of E. Dymshyts
Photo by Ivan Strakhov, onfam.ua / facebook
The second floor, which was renovated and opened to the public only recently, now exhibits works by Lviv artists Roman and Marhyt Selsky from the private collection of Eduard Dymshyts.
The extent of the damage to the works is currently being investigated; restorers are expected to visit at the end of the day. In addition, the cultural institution is to be inspected by a UNESCO commission in the near future.
Photo by Ivan Strakhov, onfam.ua / facebook
You can support the museum in its time of need with an arbitrary charitable contribution on the official website of the institution here: ofam.ua/donate
