Images of War: The Impact of Photography on Conflict Perception
Imagining a Better World: Arts, Activism, and Social Justice: A Workshop for Educators
July 2024, Cambridge, MA
In this talk, Iva Sidash delves into her experiences as a documentary photographer in Ukraine, with a focus on transforming personal war stories into universal narratives. She discusses her deliberate choice to document not just the visible aspects of combat, but also the hidden and untold stories that often go unnoticed. Sidash seeks to reveal the uncomfortable truths of war to viewers through a variety of photographic approaches.
Sidash also explores photography's role as a healing tool for both subjects and viewers. She shares stories of individuals who found solace in sharing their experiences and examines how photography fosters empathy and understanding. She discusses the broader impact of photography in helping society comprehend and process the realities of war, emphasizing its power to provoke questions, evoke emotions, and encourage deeper reflection on the human cost of conflict.
The Wall: Witness to the War in Ukraine
2024 Medium Festival
April 2024, San Diego, CA
Ukrainian documentary photographer and artist Iva Sidash speaks about her choice to document the full-scale war from the first days of the Russian full-scale invasion to the present.A native of Lviv and never a conflict photographer, Sidash began photographing internally-displaced persons (IDP’s) and refugees, photographing masses of people waiting at the Polish border.
She began traveling extensively in eastern Ukraine and immersed herself in the villages of formerly-occupied territories along the eastern front of Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, seeking out the stories of residents who survived the occupation.
Her photographs document atrocities while, at the same time, demonstrating the resolve of Ukrainian people to endure in a free homeland.
Photographing My Homeland in the Full-Scale War
October 2023, Madison, WI
Ukrainian documentary photographer Iva Sidash will give a presentation on “Photographing My Homeland in the Full-Scale War” on Thursday, September 28, 2023 at 4:00 pm in 206 Ingraham Hall, 1155 Observatory Drive. Free and open to the public.
About the Lecture: Ukrainian documentary photographer Iva Sidash shares her journey of documenting the full-scale war from the onset of the Russian invasion to the present. Her work not only records the brutal realities of war but also reflects the resilience and determination of the Ukrainian people to maintain their freedom..
About the speaker: An award-winning photographer, Sidash has been a subject of podcasts and interviews on documenting the war in Ukraine.
From September 25-October 20, 2023, an exhibition of Iva Sidash’s photographs–“The Wall: Witness to the War in Ukraine”–will be shown at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
The Battle for Democracy
The University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame , IN
Echoes of Destruction: The Silent Testimonies of Ukraine’s Walls
In my work, I aim to document not only the visible aspects of combat but also the hidden and untold stories that often go unnoticed. This exploration emphasizes how photography fosters empathy and understanding, while also highlighting its broader role in helping society grasp and process the realities of war. As a powerful medium, photography provokes questions, evokes emotions, and encourages deeper reflection on the human cost of conflict.