A group of staff from Aberdeen City Council’s Archives, Gallery and Museums (AAGM) service is showing their support for the annual Pavlovka Pinhole Festival in Ukraine by staging an exhibition of images from previous Festivals at Aberdeen Maritime Museum (opens Monday May 2, 2022).

The Pavlovka Pinhole Festival has been presented in Kyiv since 2017. Organised by curator Yuliia Belska, the Festival’s goal is to unite international photo artists who use the world’s oldest photographic tradition in their work. The idea to stage the Aberdeen exhibition came from AAGM Exhibition Officer and artist Christopher Bird, who has previously exhibited his work at the Pinhole Festival in Kyiv. The Maritime Museum exhibition features 40 works by 13 international artists. All works are for sale for a minimum donation of £45. There is also a Festival Retrospective zine publication to accompany the exhibition, available for a minimum donation of £5. Proceeds from sales will go directly to support the Pavlovka Gallery in their efforts to continue to run the Pinhole Festival in a time of war.

Pinhole photography is a versatile and accessible artform popular throughout the world. A pinhole camera is a box with a small hole which allows light from an external scene to pass through, projecting the scene onto the inside of the box. Many practitioners enjoy the challenge of constructing their own pinhole cameras rather than buying them.

Councillor Ryan Houghton, Convenor of the City Growth Committee, said: “I’m pleased that staff from the Archives, Gallery and Museums team have been able to give their time as a mark of support for the curators and artists involved with the Pavlovka Pinhole Festival in Ukraine. I hope that the exhibition at the Maritime Museum will help maintain the profile of the Festival this year.”

Yuliia Belska, Curator of the Pavlovka Pinhole Festival Restrospective, said: “It was very difficult for me to select photographs for display in the Aberdeen Maritime Museum. Symbolism came to the rescue - the number 13. This is the date of birth of Pavlovka Art Gallery, the date of the first exhibition, which took place in November 2015. The Aberdeen exhibition presents a slice of the festival - photos from 13 artists from different countries and continents. And we continue to work on the next festival, the theme of which is ‘I, bridge-builder'. Initially, it involved finding answers to questions about how I form connections, how I play on stage in order to live in this world. But in connection with the hostilities, the subject changed. Now the main message of the festival is ‘Who am I in this war?’ Our weapon is photography, a little black box carrying rays of light and peace.”

Christopher Bird, AAGM Exhibition Officer, said: “My great-grandmother was from Ukraine, and I am pleased to have exhibited at the Pavlovka Pinhole Festival in previous years. I wanted to do something to show my support for the Pavlovka Gallery in their efforts to continue to run the Festival in a time of war. I’m grateful to my Archives, Gallery & Museums colleagues for volunteering their time to make the exhibition possible.”

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