Ukrainian art rescued, heritage preserved: Mykolaiv digitizes marine painting collection from war-torn town

Mykolaiv is digitizing more than 300 evacuated exhibits of the Ochakiv Museum of Marine Painting, including paintings by Ukrainian artists Rufim Sudkovsky, Ivan Aivazovsky, as well as Tetiana Yablonska, Rubryka reports.

What is the problem?

"Today, Ochakiv suffers from Russian artillery shelling almost every day. The city remains dangerous both for people and for the unique Ukrainian cultural heritage that was kept there. But last year, we helped museum workers pack and take most of the paintings of the Ochakiv museum to a safe location," says Yevhen Homoniuk,  public relations and communications manager at Mykolaiv Development Agency. "During the war, there is no question of their return to their native walls. It is also impossible to exhibit them. That is why we are now doing everything possible so that people can see these artistic treasures at least in the online format." 

According to Larysa Tvieritinova, Deputy Director of the Mykolaiv Art Museum for Scientific Affairs, the Ochakiv Museum was preparing to celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2022. The war forced the evacuation of the entire collection and the search for new formats for viewing the saved exposition.

"We had to save the collection and evacuate the museum so that it would continue to exist even after the war when there will be peace and tranquility. In what form and when the museum in Ochakiv will be operational is unknown. But we saved the art. This is the most important thing. The museum existed for only 40 years and will continue to live in a new format," she says.

What is the solution?

The museum collection is stored securely and will soon be available to view and explore online.

The Ochakiv Museum is the only museum in Ukraine dedicated to marine painting, a type of fine art that depicts the sea. The museum is a territorially separated department of the Mykolaiv Regional Art Museum named after Vasyl Vereshchahin. That is why Mykolaiv's museum staff is actively helping digitize the evacuated works of art.

How does it work?

The project to digitize the Ochakiv collection is implemented by the Mykolaiv Development Agency together with the MY ART Platform with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Fund.

The saved collection comprises over 300 pieces of marine painting and graphics from the 19th and 20th centuries. The basis of the collection are paintings by famous Ukrainian marine painters of the 19th century, Rufin Sudkovskyi, Oleksii Hansen, and Ivan Aivazovskyi. These paintings left the museum walls for the first time since the museum's opening in 1982. Their stories are closely related to the cultural context of Mykolaiv and the region. They depict Ukrainian landscapes of the Black Sea coast, marine elements, the life of sea fishermen, military battles, and historical milestones in the development of Ukraine as a naval state. These works are the heritage of national and world culture.

To date, a large part of these works has already been digitized. In parallel with this, work is underway to create layouts for printing the future marine graphics and painting catalog.

As reported, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine is digitizing Ukrainian national parks with the support of Google Ukraine.

Rubryka also reported that a powerful digital project, namely 3D scanning of the Trinity Gate Church, was launched in Kyiv in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve.