Solomiya No. 3

Zeichen der Verzweiflung prägen die dritte Ausgabe von Solomiya ebenso wie Bilder voller Liebe, Schönheit, Mut und einer unstillbaren Sehnsucht nach einer Reise, einem Flug und Freiheit: So formulierte Yevhen, ein junger Soldat aus Odessa, seine Gedanken in »War Dreams«, einer ergreifenden Porträtserie des italienischen Fotograf*innen-Kollektivs CaimiPiccini. While raising thought-provoking questions about masculinity in war through the recent work of Vsevolod Kazarin, Alex Mashtaler’s yet unpublished photographs juxtapose the innocence of youth with the unforgiving harshness of reality – a reality shaped by Ukraine’s colonial past and a present challenged by ongoing militarization.

Interviews by the Solomiya editorial team with Asia Bazdyrieva, Maxim Dondyuk and Henrike Naumann about their research and artistic practice offer further insights into these complex contexts in Ukraine, a country marked by a colonial past and a present of ongoing militarization. While Ivanna Kozachenko and the artist collective Commercial Public Art dissect the spatial strategies of the architecture built by Russian forces in the occupied territories of Ukraine, the writings of Lucy Zoria and Sebastian Wells offer diverse insights into the lived experiences of young Ukrainians abroad.

Grand Prix award in the “Editorial” category of the ADC (Art Directors Club) Design Award 2025

Statement of the jury:

“We are awarding the ADC Grand Prix to a magazine from the war. Solomiya means “peace” and is a magazine that reports on life during the war in Ukraine. It is the contemporary document of a young generation growing up in a country where the war has now dominated everyday life for three years. The third edition also reflects the time of publication: hope has given way to exhaustion. What happens if Ukraine loses? What if I spend my entire youth at war? Could I kill to survive?

How will I be remembered? The jury is deeply impressed by this journalistic work, which rawly and impressively depicts a mixture of despair and death and signs full of love, beauty and courage.

Solomiya vibrates. It is pure power and emotion and the epitome of what communication and editorial design is capable of. Ukraine’s fate is hanging by a thread. And for the young Ukrainians, Solomiya magazine is emotional support, is networking, is a bridge, is visibility throughout Europe,” commented the ADC jury.