- Open Format
We are here temporarily, maybe forever
Viktoriia Lykholot Mariia Petreiko
3 July 2026 19:00 – 5 July 2026 19:00
We are here temporarily, maybe forever is a collaborative photo project by artists Victoria Lykholot (Kharkiv) and Maria Petrenko (Kyiv), who arrived in Berlin independently as refugees after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Through photography, the artists document their everyday lives in a new city while navigating displacement, bureaucracy, and shifting identities. The project unfolds as a visual dialogue between two women who support each other while reconstructing a sense of belonging in an unfamiliar environment.
Berlin appears here not only as a place of refuge but as a complex and contradictory space — at once open and indifferent, liberating and destabilizing. The artists observe, collect, and reframe fragments of urban life: windows, streets, temporary interiors, and accidental encounters that echo memories of home.
The work reflects on instability, adaptation, and the fragile condition of being “in between” — between countries, languages, and versions of the self. What begins as a temporary state gradually transforms into a new, uncertain permanence.
The programme includes an exhibition of the photo series, artist talks, and readings based on personal texts and field notes developed alongside the project.
Through photography, the artists document their everyday lives in a new city while navigating displacement, bureaucracy, and shifting identities. The project unfolds as a visual dialogue between two women who support each other while reconstructing a sense of belonging in an unfamiliar environment.
Berlin appears here not only as a place of refuge but as a complex and contradictory space — at once open and indifferent, liberating and destabilizing. The artists observe, collect, and reframe fragments of urban life: windows, streets, temporary interiors, and accidental encounters that echo memories of home.
The work reflects on instability, adaptation, and the fragile condition of being “in between” — between countries, languages, and versions of the self. What begins as a temporary state gradually transforms into a new, uncertain permanence.
The programme includes an exhibition of the photo series, artist talks, and readings based on personal texts and field notes developed alongside the project.
Biography
Viktoriia Lykholot Mariia Petreiko
Viktoriia Lykholot
An artist, curator, blogger from Kharkiv. A member of the Ukrainian Women Photographers Organization. She has exhibited in Paris, Chicago, Beijing, and Berlin. Currently living in Berlin.
Maria Petrenko
An artist and photographer from Kyiv. She has participated in exhibitions in London, Krakow, Kyiv, Lviv, and Arles. She was a finalist of the Sony World Photography Awards 2018 and is a member of the Ukrainian Women Photographers Organization. She studied photography at Bird in Flight and MYPH schools. Currently, she lives in Berlin.
An artist, curator, blogger from Kharkiv. A member of the Ukrainian Women Photographers Organization. She has exhibited in Paris, Chicago, Beijing, and Berlin. Currently living in Berlin.
Maria Petrenko
An artist and photographer from Kyiv. She has participated in exhibitions in London, Krakow, Kyiv, Lviv, and Arles. She was a finalist of the Sony World Photography Awards 2018 and is a member of the Ukrainian Women Photographers Organization. She studied photography at Bird in Flight and MYPH schools. Currently, she lives in Berlin.
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