Gallery: Baltic Way photography exhibition opens on streets of New York
This month, the Tallinn-based OKAPI Gallery is participating in one of the US' largest international photography events – Photoville in New York. The exhibition "The Baltic Way as Soft Resistance" will be displayed in Brooklyn, introducing New Yorkers to the peaceful protests, which led to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania regaining independence from Soviet occupation.
"The Baltic Way as Soft Resistance" by photographer and gallerist Temuri Hvingiya and Ukrainian street and documentary photographer Andrii Mur, explores the geopolitical, psychological and cultural impact of the Baltic Way.
Through compelling documentary photography, the project introduces New Yorkers and international audiences visiting the city to the recent history of Estonia and the other Baltic countries, as well as to the security threats they face today.
The exhibition encourages reflection on collective memory and self-determination, aiming for cultural understanding and historical learning. The project also aims to foster cultural understanding and empathy, and thereby support American-Estonian dialogue and cooperation today and in the future.
Parallels are drawn with Georgia's December 2024 "Chain of Unity" for EU membership and elections, illustrating the enduring power of peaceful protests for freedom.
The project includes works by Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian photographers Peeter Langovits, Mati Hiis, Aivars Liepiņš, Romualdas Požerskis and Vytautas Daraškevičius, as well as archival materials from the Tallinn Photo Museum, the Latvian Photo Museum and the Lithuanian Museum of the Victims of Genocide.
The Baltic Way was peaceful protest, which saw 2 million Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians form a 600km human chain for independence.
More information is available here.
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Editor: Michael Cole, Rasmus Kuningas
