TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — The Florida Department of Arts and Culture hosts an art exhibit sharing the story of a mother and daughter who survived the Holodomor and Holocaust. ABC 27’s Kandace Blake shows us how the students felt about the exhibition.
“So we’re bringing about Holocaust and Holodomor awareness," says Kelley Bowen.
Leon County Students gathered at the Florida Capitol for a lesson told through art. The Two Regimes focuses on the life and work of a Ukrainian mother daughter duo surviving the Holodomor and Holocaust. The Holocaust was the genocide of millions of Jews in World War II. The Holodomor was the starvation of millions of Ukrainians in Soviet Ukraine. Kelley Bowen is the curator for the exhibit. She says that history through art reaches students on a level that they might not otherwise get in a traditional classroom setting.
Kelly Bowen says, “What we have found on this collection is that it does reach students on an emotional level. If you can reach students on an emotional level, you have an opportunity to help create change.”
Christopher Lee says, “I think the artwork is something that- art in general is something that we use to give sort of an eloquence and significance to our own emotion.”
Chiles High school Senior Christopher Lee says he feels that the collection paints a more intimate experience and makes the concept of war all-the-more real. A similar feeling felt by Junior Avery Heller.
“Being here makes you feel connected to the people especially with what’s going on currently in Ukraine.”
The collection was discovered outside of rural Tallahassee in the year 2000. It is considered a salvaged Florida resource. Chiles Sophomore Shao Yang believes this piece of history serves as a great teaching tool.
“I think it really is a blessing for us to have this since of history and expression from such like a pivotal moment in history," says Shao Yang.
This exhibit is open to the public and will be on display at the Florida Capitol through July 28th.
