‘Korinnya, the Roots’: Community Photography Project & Exhibition Collaboration in Plymouth

On February 24th 2025, we concluded the “My Home” community photography project with the launch of the exhibition, ‘Korinnya, the Roots’. Bringing together the Ukrainian community in Exeter and Plymouth through photography, “My Home” was a collaboration between Devon Ukrainian Association and FotoNow CIC in Exeter. The outdoor exhibition, ‘Korinnya, the Roots’, which was displayed for a month on Union Street in Plymouth, was made possible by the support of Nudge Community Builders. 

Exhibition Header Image - by Angelina Romaniuk

Supported by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), “My Home” has invited the participants to reflect on the concept of home through photography and the development of relevant creative skills. Proposed by the project participants, the title and the focus of this exhibition, “korinnya (коріння)”, or “roots” in English, represents a feeling of loss and uncertainty, as well as an indestructible attachment to homeland and Ukrainian identity.

As the world marks the 3rd tragic anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24/02/2025, the photographs, captured by Devon’s local Ukrainian community, are an important reminder of the traumatic impact of this invasion beyond the warzone and frontline - a perspective from the day-to-day life of displaced Ukrainian people in the UK.

Many Ukrainian newcomers have managed to build a new life in the UK in the past 3 years - yet their hope to return home has only grown stronger. Underneath the photos of their current life in Devon, are the deep roots of blue and yellow - Roots in the air. Roots that wish to return to their soil. Roots that can’t be detached. Roots that can’t be destroyed.

While the outdoor exhibition of ‘Korinnya, the Roots’ has now finished, the online version of the exhibition can be accessed here.

Read about Korinnya in PRSD’s report here.

Special thanks: FotoNow CIC, Nudge Community Builders, Ukrainian Space Plymouth, University of Plymouth & the Project Participants - Natalia Zhovtun, Iryna, Oksana Yefimova, Tania Drobot, Angelina Romaniuk, Anastasiia Pereverzieva, Nataliia Sindikova, Anastasiia Kuznetsova, Nadiia Katyreva, Tamara Sachko.