In 2026, the KhRAM  will celebrate its 40th anniversary, so most of the exhibitions taking place in the museum space are closely linked to the history of the museum collection’s formation and reinterpretation. The profound changes brought about by this seemingly endless war have forced us to recalibrate our perspective and adapt to complex challenges and realities. However, the importance of museum researchers’ work remains unchanged; it has always been and will continue to be a priority in our work. As we engage in dialogue with previous museum projects, the shift in the connotations of many words and symbols has become particularly noticeable. Sensitivity during the war has taken on new contours. From now on, not only people but also cultural institutions have become especially vulnerable and fragile.

In the summer of 2021, the exhibition “Zones of Sensitivity” took place in this same exhibition space; based on new acquisitions to the museum’s collections, it aimed to explore “the issues of personal choice among artists in our museum’s collection against the backdrop of the turbulent times of the formation of the country’s social, political, economic, and cultural spheres” *. The time frame spanned from 2013—the start of the Revolution of Dignity, which “proved to be a powerful catalyst for the birth of a conscious political Ukrainian nation”—to 2021, when Ukraine celebrated the 30th anniversary of the restoration of independence, and our museum, considered Ukraine’s first state collection of contemporary art, marked its 35th anniversary. “The challenges of our time have heightened artistic sensitivity to the most vulnerable problem areas of our society.”* At the same time, 2021 was the last year when we had the opportunity to visit Ukrainian museums unhindered and view their permanent exhibitions. That same year, our museum purchased paintings for its collection using state funds for the last time.

From February 2022 to February 2026, during the Russian aggression, over 130 museums and galleries were destroyed, more than 1,600 cultural heritage sites were damaged, and over 480,000 artifacts were stolen from Ukrainian museums. All these events constantly bring us back to the realization that the museum sector in Ukraine has become a special “zone of sensitivity,” sustained by the efforts of dedicated enthusiasts solely because museum professionals, despite everything, continue to forge their difficult and sometimes dangerous path for the sake of future generations.

Thus, the exhibition “Zones of Sensitivity – 2” is an attempt at a careful analysis of our team’s work during the full-scale invasion. After all, despite the inaccessibility of a significant portion of the exhibition spaces, we managed to open 118 exhibitions, and despite the lack of funding for the acquisition of paintings, we were able to add 355 works of art to the museum’s main collection over the years. At the same time, we are aware that by no means all of these works possess high aesthetic value. However, given the times we live in, the value of certain objects is no longer a constant.

With the onset of the full-scale invasion, the KhRAM  was the only art institution in the region that did not cease its operations. As early as March 2022, we resumed our exhibition activities, which became the main source of new acquisitions for the collection. The works from this period are filled with artists’ internal explorations of a new visual language and serve as an emotional testament to the turbulent events. At the same time, the long-standing practice of artists donating works of art without ties to exhibition projects continued. Therefore, we once again express our sincere gratitude to the artists who understand the museum’s mission and support museum staff during these turbulent times.

The works featured in the exhibition represent a portion of the new acquisitions to the KhRAM  collection from 2022 to 2025 and constitute a subjective curatorial selection that references the most significant artistic events taking place within the museum’s space during this period. At the same time, the empty spaces on the museum walls invite reflection on the exhibitions we were deprived of due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, as well as on the artists who, having joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, lost the opportunity to pursue their creative work. Some of them forever…