24 October 2024

Official Presentation of Art Projects Faces of Deportation and High Price To Pay Held at the House of the Blackheads in Riga as Part of the Crimea Platform Summit

On October 23, at the House of the Blackheads, within the framework of the Third Parliamentary Summit of the Crimea Platform, the official presentation of the art projects titled “Faces of Deportation” and “High Price To Pay / Ağır sınavlarğa baqmadan” took place, expanding the program of the QIRIM İÇÜN / FOR CRIMEA exhibition.

These exhibitions are part of the Summit, which aims to strengthen international support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as call on the global community to increase pressure on Russia to stop the repression in the occupied territories.

The photo project Faces of Deportation by Crimean Tatar artist Zarema Yaliboylu presents portraits of Crimean Tatars from different generations who survived the 1944 deportation and returned to their homeland. This artistic project aims to use photography to tell the story of a people whose rich culture and heritage have been subjected to destruction by Russia and its predecessors over the centuries.

The installation High Price To Pay / Ağır sınavlarğa baqmadan recreates the process of the return of the Crimean Tatars to their native land. Through household items, authentic clothing, and crafts, the cultural heritage of Ukraine’s Indigenous People is depicted, reflecting memories of everyday life and peace before the deportation.

The installation features works and materials from the state enterprise Crimean House, the Crimean Tatar restaurant Musafir, Crimean Tatar ceramicist and curator of the Yol/Path project Rustem Skibin, the Crimean Tatar ceramics workshop Aqyar, the linen textile brand Ptashatam, and the traditional wooden candlestick workshop Triytsya Collections.

The opening of the exhibition was organized by the Mission/Office of the Crimea Platform in cooperation with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Embassy of Ukraine in Latvia. We thank the organizers and partners for highlighting the tragedy of the genocide-deportation of the Crimean Tatar people and contributing to the preservation of the cultural memory of Ukraine’s Indigenous Peoples.