RESEARCH SPACE: A Public Project on Archives, Memory, and Family History
On July 9, 2026, the National Historical and Memorial Reserve “Babyn Yar” will open RESEARCH SPACE, a two-month public initiative inviting visitors to explore personal family history alongside the collective memory of the Babyn Yar tragedy.
From July 10 through August 30, the "Living Memory" exhibition center will host visitors working with family archives, alongside film screenings, book discussions, lectures, and sessions dedicated to archival artifacts.
RESEARCH SPACE brings together four interconnected formats, each offering a different way of engaging with historical memory:
The Archive Lab, developed in partnership with Archival Information Systems—the only company in Ukraine that works systematically on large-scale digitization of archival and library collections—will serve as an open platform for working with family archives. Visitors can digitize photographs, letters, documents, and other family materials free of charge, learn about preservation practices through lectures and hands-on workshops, and, if they choose, contribute digital copies to the National Historical and Memorial Reserve’ collection.
The Film Club will present a selection of international documentary films exploring memory, archives, war, and responsibility. The program, curated by filmmaker and screenwriter Oleksiy Radynski, was developed in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut Ukraine and the French Institute in Ukraine.
The Book Club will feature a reading room with a curated selection of literature on the Holocaust, historical memory, and identity. Throughout the summer, it will host public readings and discussions with historians Sofia Hrachova, Anatoly Podolsky, and Yuri (Amir) Radchenko.
A distinct part of the project, "Space of Testimony," is a research and exhibition format built around unique items from the archive of public figure Illia Levitas. Each artifact—a photograph, letter, document, or personal object—becomes a starting point for exploring the story of a specific person or family. Through archival documents, maps, photographs, and other materials, visitors will be able to trace individual human fates, turning a museum object into historical testimony.
The opening program on July 9 will include a press tour for media, an official opening ceremony, and the first public lecture, "Searching for Information in the Archive: How It Works," delivered by historian Kyrylo Vyslobokov. The lecture will be followed by a hands-on workshop on digitizing and preserving family archives. Organizers invite visitors to bring old photographs, letters, documents, and other materials held in family collections.
Over the course of two months, the space will operate daily, combining exhibition, research, and educational formats, and offering visitors multiple ways to explore their own history through archival sources, literature, film, and historical testimony.
Opening: July 9, 2026 4:00 PM — Press tour for media 5:00 PM — Official opening 6:00 PM — Lecture by Kyrylo Vysloboков, "Searching for Information in the Archive: How It Works," followed by a family archive digitization workshop
Open to the public: July 10 – August 30, 2026 Daily, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Living Memory Exhibition Center 46A Yuriia Illienka Street, Kyiv Admission is free.