‘Contra Spem Spero’ (or ‘Hoping Against Hope’) is a Ukrainian contemporary, multimedia exhibition – inspired by the famous 1890’s poem by Lesia Ukrainka – currently on display at Monash University in Melbourne.
The exhibition, set against a backdrop of Ukrainian-inspired designs and spaces, features Ukrainian rare books and materials from Monash’s Ada Booth Slavic Collection, animated poetry readings in Ukrainian and English (including a reading by Nick Cave in English), Ukrainian icons and new art works from Christy Chudosnik and Ukrainian students.
Showcasing over 500 years of Ukrainian culture, the exhibition explores the relationship between history, resistance, resilience and hope in Ukraine.
The exhibition was curated by Dr Anne Holloway and Deanna Ramsey, in partnership with designers at Studio Peter King, Monash University multimedia students, and in consultation with leading Ukrainian scholar Monash Emeritus Professor Marko Pavlyshyn.
“Russia’s war on Ukraine is a war to extinguish Ukrainian identity. ‘Hoping Against Hope’ is a beautiful and uplifting exhibition which shows how Ukrainian culture has resisted such endeavours in the past, and how it is doing so again today,” Professor Marko Pavlyshyn said.
The exhibition was opened on Monday 3 June 2024 and attended by the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisation’s co-cair Stefan Romaniw and Board Executive member Chrestyna Kmetj.
“The exhibition explores the power of storytelling to foster hope amidst adversary and oppression in Ukraine,” said Ms Kmetj.
“It also highlights the significance of the diaspora and the importance of documenting history and preservation of books across the centuries…and to consider the journey of these books to Australia’s distant shores,” she added.
We encourage everyone to go and see the exhibition for themselves – it is truly beautiful!
📍Sir Louis Matheson Library, The Gallery, Ground floor, 40 Exhibition Walk, Clayton Campus VIC 3800
🎟️ Free entry
🗓️ Monday – Friday 8AM – 12AM, Saturday – Sunday 10am – 5pm
See here for an article published by Monash University about the exhibition.
