From Odesa to Berlin: A Story of Cultural Solidarity
An exhibition to reflect on close ties between Western Europe and Ukraine
April 15th, 2025
From 24 January to 22 June 2025, Berlin’s Gemäldegalerie presents a special exhibition: From Odesa to Berlin: European Painting of the 16th to 19th Century. This display brings together 60 major artworks from the Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art, organized into nine thematic chapters that guide visitors through centuries of European artistic development. The exhibition offers a rare opportunity to explore a historically and artistically significant collection that remains largely unfamiliar to Western audiences.
The Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art houses was established in 1924 in Odesa (Ukraine). This institution is a vital element of Ukraine’s cultural landscape, not only because of the large artistic heritage it preserves, but also because it is the reflection of Ukraine’s complex and layered identity.
Amid escalating tensions in early 2022, the most important pieces in the Odesa Museum's collection were moved to an emergency storage facility. The artworks have been brought to Berlin and now are displayed at the Berlin’s Gemäldegalerie for the world to see.
Under the direction of Sabine Lata and Dagmar Hirschfelder, this exhibition is a painstakingly organised experience meant to inspire and educate. The exhibition's particular objective is to highlight the connections between Ukraine and Western Europe, the Berlin artworks allow the viewer to see both parallels and variations between creative movements of various European region across centuries.
References:
- - https://www.visitberlin.de/en/event/odesa-berlin-european-painting-16th-19th-century
- - https://www.berlin.de/en/tickets/exhibitions/from-odesa-to-berlin-36c2a11f-19e9-405a-a3f5-4f6e13b91419/
