Iva Sidash 2024 Ian Parry Photojournalism Grant
Aliona in the ruined school where she once taught art. Slatyne, Kharkiv region, August 2024.
A close-up of an ear. Slatyne, a village located 15 kilometers from the Ukrainian-Russian border. Kharkiv region, August 2024.
A ruined piano in the destroyed school of Slatyne. Kharkiv region, August 2024.
Uliyana in the yard of the school where she studied before the full-scale Russian war. Slatyne, Kharkiv region, August 2024.
Uliyana's picture on the honor board at the ruined school in Slatyne, Kharkiv region, August 2024.
Matviy hugs his mother, Aliona, and Aliona's nephew, Myron, in the yard of their home in Slatyne, Kharkiv region, August 2024.
Matviy, 15, and Uliyana, 13, Aliona's children in Slatyne, Kharkiv region, August 2024.
Uliyana practices playing the ukulele in Slatyne, Kharkiv region, August 2024.
Myron, 5, Aliona's nephew, in the kitchen in Slatyne, Kharkiv region, August 2024.
Matviy, 15, and Uliyana, 13, Aliona's children, eat dinner in the yard in Slatyne, Kharkiv region, August 2024.
Matviy, 15, and Uliyana, 13, Aliona's children in Slatyne, Kharkiv region, August 2024.
Uliana with her mother Aliona in Slatyne, Kharkiv region, August 2024.
About the work
“As a refugee living in another country, I felt like a cut flower. It’s as if you’ve been given a beautiful vase, but you feel empty and severed. Only here, at home, I start to feel my roots again.” Aliona, 43.
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Slatyne village in the Kharkiv region which is located 15 kilometers from Russia has been continuously under attack due to Russian shelling. Aliona, a single mother with her two children, fled her home in few days after the invasion began. They spent five months in Poland, then came to Kyiv where they lived for six months, and then to Kharkiv for 3 months. In the fall of 2023, despite the ongoing conflict perilously close to her home, Aliona could no longer endure the distance and decided to return.
Although the school and parts of the village have been destroyed and the area is still under attack, life persists amid the war. As a teacher, she now conducts her classes online, and her children are also engaged in remote studies. Aliona is currently rebuilding her house, which was damaged in a Russian missile strike. Despite the everyday sound of explosions, their home remains a place of love and resilience where they establish new routines, support one another, and treasure their time together amid the war.
People often judge families who choose to stay in dangerous areas, but what about those who took the responsibility to flee the country and, after experiencing the challenges of displacement, decide to return? Do we consider what these individuals have gone through and the reasons behind their decisions? Everyone wants to feel like a flower rooted in the ground, not just placed in a vase.
About the Photographer
Iva Sidash (b. 1995, Ukraine) is an independent photographer and visual storyteller based in Ukraine. Sidash studied Documentary Practices and Visual Journalism at the International Center of Photography in New York in 2023-2024 and is a 2024 Women Photograph mentee. In October 2024 she attended the Eddie Adams Workshop XXXVII where she received the Chris Hondros Award.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Sidash has focused her work on bringing attention to the often overlooked personal stories of civilians affected by the war.
Her work has been published in The Atlantic Magazine, INSIDER, The Financial Times, The Fisheye Magazine, Der Spiegel, and more.
Her photography has been showcased in group exhibitions across the US and Europe including solo exhibitions “The Wall: Witness to the War in Ukraine” in Wisconsin (October 2023) and San Diego, California (April 2024).