Against Stones

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A humanitarian art therapy platform

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🇺🇦 Pride
Photo

Neighbourhood pride

by NadiaC

City : Kyiv
Format : A4
Status: : Available
Creative Points: : 80
Time spent (minutes) : 25 min
Created at : 18/12/2025
A participatory photo series shot on one market morning at Kontraktova square: eight Podil residents received a reloaded film camera and the instruction to « photograph what makes you proud here, even if small ». Nadia then digitised and composed the twelve selected views into an A4 polyptych — flowered windows, a child hugging a cat, repainted « Slava Ukraini » graffiti, a baker's hands dusting flour.

The light is November without direct sun: pearl grey, wet reflections on cobblestones, faithful colours without filters. Each image bears a handwritten note by its author in the corner — « my repaired stairwell », « the kiosk reopening », « the church bell » — tiny proofs of civic resilience.

Second layer: Nadia added borders drawn in blue ballpoint, recalling school albums. The set refuses miserabilism: it documents the quiet pride of a quarter that carries on, organises, feeds. Against Stones sees here a collective portrait of Podil — not monumental, but tenacious, like foundation stone beneath autumn rain mud.

Artist Stories

Twelve views of pride

I spent a week convincing the neighbors—not to “make art,” but to observe what stood the test of time. Mrs. Liudmyla photographed her staircase, repaired after water damage; Taras, the baker, his flour-covered hands; a teenager, the repainted graffiti. No one considered themselves a photographer; everyone had a reason to hold their camera steady. On market day, it was drizzling; umbrellas formed a colorful canopy over Kontraktova Square. In composing the polyptych, I refused to crop to embellish—pride needs no filter. Every handwritten note remained, misspellings and all.

Pierre Dubois, participant

"As an expat, this series taught me where to look: not at monuments, but at tiny pieces of evidence. A kiosk reopening is a banal act of heroism—banal like stone, heroic like the heart."

Associated Media

Flat lay photograph of A4 polyptych with twelve small film photos arranged in grid, Kontraktova market scenes, flowered windows child with cat repainted Slava Ukraini graffiti baker flour hands, pearl grey November light, handwritten Ukrainian notes in corners, blue ballpoint borders, participatory pride Podil, documentary humanitarian series.

Single film photograph from participatory series, repaired stairwell in Podil apartment building, fresh paint on handrail, potted plant on landing, handwritten note « мої сходи », soft overcast Kyiv light, dignified mundane pride, no filters, wartime resilience detail.

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