The Synagogue at Babyn Yar: Turning the Nightmares of Evil into a Shared Dream of Good

The Koffler Gallery, in partnership with Swiss Architect Manuel Herz and Canadian historian and curator Robert Jan van Pelt, announce the world-premiere exhibition of The Synagogue at Babyn Yar: Turning the Nightmares of Evil into a shared Dream of Good. This international exhibition is brought together with assistance from Canadian architect Douglas Birkenshaw and through architectural photography by celebrated Dutch photographer Iwan Baan. The exhibition features large-scale photographic murals directed by Ukrainian-Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky taken by Ukrainian photographer Maxim Dondyuk.

The exhibition at the Koffler Gallery opens on April 17th, the eve of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, and will run to the end of Holocaust Education Week on November 12th, 2023. It will link three moments in time of exceptional global resonance – the original 1941 massacre, the creation and dedication of this extraordinary, jewel-like, wooden synagogue and the current Russian war against Ukraine.

A public engagement program curated by Joshua Heuman will accompany the gallery installation show and will offer a series of focused events to contextualize and help audiences unpack the intertwined layers of urgent concerns and references that underpin the exhibition.