Traveling exhibition "A Journey Through the Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter: From Antiquity to 1939" opens in Korsun-Shevchenkivsky

On 26 November 2025, the traveling exhibition "A Journey Through the Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter: From Antiquity to 1939," created by UJE, opened in the hall of the Korsun-Shevchenkivsky Historical and Cultural Reserve. The event became an important part of the exhibition's cultural and educational itinerary, designed to showcase the centuries-old history of coexistence of the Ukrainian and Jewish peoples, their interactions, cultural influences, and shared historical experience.

Korsun-Shevchenkivsky, a town with a centuries-old cultural and architectural heritage, is traditionally considered one of the key centers of historical memory in the Cherkasy region. The exhibition opened at the Poniatowski Palace, an 18th-century monument that has preserved the features of European palace architecture and the spirit of past eras. The location created a special atmosphere in which modern cultural discourse permeated the city's deep historical layers.

Anna Zubko, Director of the Poniatowski Palace Museum, welcomed the guests, noting that Ukraine's history has been shaped by many peoples who have lived on its lands for centuries. In her opening remarks, she quoted the renowned American-Canadian historian Paul Robert Magocsi, who emphasized the need for Ukrainians and Jews to get to know one another better in order to achieve true understanding. This is precisely the idea that the exhibition, created to strengthen intercultural dialogue and build a shared awareness of the past, is designed to embody.

The first to take the floor was Vladyslav Hrynevych, Jr., UJE's regional manager in Ukraine, who presented the organization's main areas of activity, outlined its mission in intercultural diplomacy, and discussed the exhibition's structure and content. He emphasized that the exhibition seeks to present a holistic, multifaceted history of Ukrainian-Jewish relations, not focusing solely on periods of crisis, but also demonstrating centuries-old coexistence, joint work, cultural development, and dialogue.

The next speaker, Liudmyla Simshah, deputy head of the Korsun-Shevchenkivsky Town Council, expressed gratitude to UJE for choosing the town as one of the stops on the cultural project's itinerary and emphasized the importance of studying the multinational history of the region, where Ukrainians, Jews, Poles, and members of other communities have lived at different times.

A special speaker on the program's list was Klavdia Kolesnikova, Director of the Regional Jewish History Museum "We Are from the Shtetl," who worked as a senior research associate at the historical museum of the reserve in the 1980s and 1990s. She shared her achievements in local research and the preservation of historical memory with the audience and showed copies of a Korsun magazine that published materials on the Jewish community in the Korsun region, local traditions, and the daily life of the local Jews. Kolesnikova also shared an interesting fact: Sholem Aleichem visited Korsun — this points to the region's rich cultural and literary heritage.

In her address to participants, Lidiia Ovsiienko, Deputy Director for Research of the Korsun-Shevchenkivsky Historical and Cultural Reserve, underscored the importance of intercultural projects for shaping a modern understanding of Ukraine's history and emphasized that such exhibitions create a space for dialogue between generations, science, and community.

The artistic highlight of the opening ceremony was the performance of Valentyna Hryniuk, a talented composer, singer, and leader of the Barvy Korsunia Ukrainian singing studio at the Center for Children and Youth Art. She sang the Ukrainian folk song "Chornobryvtsi," creating a warm emotional atmosphere that highlighted the spiritual connection between art and historical memory.

After the official part, everyone was invited to explore the exhibition, interact, and share impressions. Each visitor to the exhibition's opening was presented with a copy of the catalog A Journey Through the Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter: From Antiquity to 1914. This lavishly illustrated 168-page edition was designed to present a coherent narrative and explore the shared historical experience of the two peoples in all its diversity and complexity — both in times of crisis and episodic violence and during extended periods of normal coexistence and multifaceted intercultural interaction.

Vladyslav Hrynevych, Jr., Regional Manager, UJE Ukraine