On 10 March, the photo exhibition "I Choose Life", depicting Ukrainians who fled to Estonia from the war and their stories, will open on Vabaduse Square. It is a social and cultural project created by Ukrainian war refugee photographers.

According to Marje Tõemäe, Head of the Cultural Department of the Tallinn Culture and Sports Department, it is important to deal with the Ukrainian war issue in a consistent way while the war is going on. "I believe that this photo exhibition project will help us to remember that there are tragic people in our midst whose lives have been permanently changed by this war," said Tõemäe.

Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, which began on 24 February, has led to one of the largest refugee crises in our time - 4.8 million people have registered as war refugees. According to the Social Insurance Board, nearly 119,000 people have arrived in Estonia, of whom more than 65,000 have stayed in Estonia and more than 13,800 have registered in Tallinn. 

The photo exhibition "I Choose Life" will open on Freedom Square on 10 March. The exhibition depicts Ukrainian war refugees living in Tallinn who have found their place in a new country and a strange society. In addition to portraits of the refugees, the exhibition also tells their story: who they are, what their life was like in Ukraine, where they lived and who they worked for. It also answers questions about how they have adapted in Estonia, where they live and work now, and where and who they see themselves in five years' time. 

For the photo exhibition "I choose life", four Ukrainian war refugees photograph their compatriots who have arrived in Estonia, and in addition to the photographs, they will also write short stories about them. The exhibition is organized by the Tallinn Culture and Sports Department.
Authors of the photo exhibition:

Daria Prasko is 34 years old. She was born in Novaya Kakhovka, a small town in the Kherson Oblast (southern Ukraine). For the last 10 years she lived and worked in Kharkiv. She started her career as a photographer in 2010, after which she worked as a designer for some time, combining her design work with photography. Daria came to Estonia with her mother and 8-month-old son. Thanks to the help of volunteers, she works as a photographer in Estonia and is studying to become a web designer by distance learning.

Maksym Bilozor is 17 years old. He is from Dnipro, a city in central Ukraine. Maksym arrived in Estonia on 6 March. He became interested in photography three years ago. Maksym has been trying out his photography skills in different genres - he started with architectural photography, but has now become more interested in portraits. He is a first-year student of cross-media at the Baltic Institute of Film, Media and Arts, Tallinn University.

Yuliia Dvornichenko is 27 years old. She was born and lived in Mariupol and holds a Master's degree in Organizational Management. During her studies, she became interested in photography. After graduating in 2018, she delved into photography and worked as a photographer in Mariupol. Yuliia arrived in Tallinn on 21 March. She is studying English and also plans to study Estonian. She likes to take portraits, couple and family photos.

Natalia Fomina is 39 years old. She came to Tallinn from Odessa with her two children on 7 March. Natalia has a degree in economics and worked in this field for six years. She has been working as a photographer for eight years, taking pictures of children and families. Through the Estonian Unemployment Fund, she studied graphic design but has not yet found a job.

Foto by: Daria Prasko