On July 24, the World Club of Odesites opened the photo exhibition “Odesa AnnA Praha” — a new creative project by renowned Odesa television journalist and photographer Hanna Koreneva.
That evening, friends, colleagues, and photography enthusiasts gathered at the Club. Together, they embarked on an unusual journey through two cities that have now become home to the artist — Odesa and Prague.
Felix Kokhricht, journalist and writer who moderated the opening, offered a very precise key to understanding the exhibition. He was also one of those who supported the project from the very beginning. The title of the exhibition — “Odesa AnnA Praha” — emerged almost immediately. It contains not only the artist’s name, but also a kind of anagram — a symbol of movement toward one another. The word “AnnA” reads the same in both directions, and this idea became the conceptual foundation of the entire exhibition.
Opening the exhibition, Ivan Liptuga, President of the World Club of Odesites, noted that within the exhibition space, the two cities seem to look at one another, engaging in a quiet dialogue through photography.
In one room — Odesa, on the Black Sea coast. In another — Prague, along the banks of the Vltava. An old clock on a Prague tower, Odesa courtyards, port cranes, a street musician… In Hanna Koreneva’s photographs, Odesa and Prague are no longer separated by hundreds of kilometres. They exist side by side, in a shared space of human memory, love, and light. Here, a unique space emerges in which the two cities engage in a quiet, sincere conversation about memory, home, beauty, and hope.
Hanna Koreneva worked as a television journalist for many years. Today, her black-and-white photography reveals a world without unnecessary words — through light, composition, human emotions, and an attentive view of seemingly ordinary things. It is precisely this ability to see what is important in the everyday that makes her photographs so poignant.
The opening of the exhibition became not only an artistic event, but also a warm gathering of people united by their love for Odesa. They talked about culture and life, remembered friends, and shared memories and plans. Naturally, they also touched upon the troubling realities of wartime. Despite everything, the World Club of Odesites continues to live, create, and open new exhibitions, because culture is precisely what helps preserve strength of spirit and faith in the future.
We sincerely thank Hanna Koreneva for this subtle and deeply personal story told through the language of photography. During the opening, the artist expressed her gratitude to the exhibition curators — Stepan Alekian and Angelina Tarasenko; the project partners — the Odesa Regional Organization of the National Union of Photographers of Ukraine, the Czech Federation of Photographic Art, and the Foton-2 Photo Club; as well as the exhibition organiser — the World Club of Odesites.
The World Club of Odesites sincerely thanks Volodymyr Bohatyriov for the photo and video coverage of the opening, allowing those who were unable to attend in person to experience the atmosphere of the evening as well. https://youtu.be/WY9xFewdHDI?si=OYULN52_yrxGSsIJ
The “Odesa AnnA Praha” exhibition will run until the end of July. After the World Club of Odesites’ summer break, it will once again welcome visitors on the eve of Odesa City Day.
