Hoping Against Hope has been more than three years in the making. It is part of Monash University Library’s program of public exhibitions in the Matheson Gallery.
These exhibitions are designed to showcase our special collections in a contemporary way, activate our spaces and deliver an enriching experience for our Monash Community.
We are grateful for the expertise, creativity and support we received to bring our vision to life.
Meet the curators
Our team of curators drew on Monash University Library’s world-class Ada Booth Slavic Collection and were supported by the generous Ada Booth benefaction to develop the exhibition.
Anne Holloway is Special Collections Curator at Monash University Library. She is curator of The Perfect Migrant (2021), Return: The Journey Home (2019) and Indigenous Rights: Protest in Print (2019), Tall Tales and True: II (2018) and Treasures from Monash University Library exhibition. Until 2020, she taught integral palaeography and codicology for Monash University postgraduates.
She has contributed papers to Word, Deed & Image: Mendicants to the World (Brepols, 2016), Poverty and Devotion in Mendicant Cultures (Routledge, 2016) and Making and Breaking the Rules: Discussion, Implementation, and Consequences of Dominican Legislation (OUP, 2018), and co-written ‘Cooking up Engagement during a pandemic: The International Great Rare Books Bake Off between the Penn State and Monash University Libraries’ (2021).
Anne is interested in the role of special collections in research, and as places of cultural production in collaboration with universities.
Deanna Ramsey [Filonjuk] was the Ada Booth Bequest Librarian at Monash University Library during the development of this exhibition.
She is passionate about connecting collections with community, critical librarianship and communicating academic research through public programs, including through the Ada Booth Research Fellowship and the inaugural Monash Scholars at Risk Speaker Series. She promotes inquiry-based learning and reflective practice through using the library collections to support teaching and learning at Monash.
Deanna is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Ukrainian cultural heritage and supporting research in Ukrainian Studies and the wider Slavic Studies fields. She brings deep experience to the curation of Hoping Against Hope – drawing on her educational background in History and Gender Studies and Information Management/Library Studies, alongside her experience and connections from growing up in Melbourne’s Ukrainian diaspora.
Genevieve is a recently-graduated library technician with a passion for history. An alumna of Monash University, she graduated in 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts, focussing on History and Religious Studies, and was awarded the 2022 A. G. L. Shaw Prize. Genevieve recently completed a Diploma of Library and Information Studies at Swinburne University, and is looking forward to bringing her background in historical studies to her librarianship practice.
As a Ukrainian-Australian, lending her research and curatorial assistance to the Hoping Against Hope exhibition has been incredibly fulfilling, and she hopes to contribute further to the preservation and sharing of Ukrainian culture in future.
Meet our experts
World-leading Ukrainian studies scholars provided expert advice, guidance on our curatorial process and translations for this exhibition. We are grateful for their support.
Professor Marko Pavlyshyn is the author of Ol’ha Kobylianska: Interpretations (Kharkiv, 2008), Canon and Iconostasis (Kyiv,1997), literary translations from the Ukrainian into English, and more than 100 chapters and articles, mainly on modern and contemporary Ukrainian literature.
He has edited and co-edited twelve scholarly collections including, with Giovanna Brogi and Serhii Plokhy,Ukraine and Europe: Cultural Encounters and Negotiations (Toronto, 2017).
Marko Pavlyshyn is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and an International Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
Dr Alessandro Achilli is senior assistant professor in Slavic Studies at the University of Cagliari, Italy. He was lecturer in Ukrainian Studies at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia (2017–2020), and research fellow at the DFG Center for Advanced Studies on Contemporary Poetry at Trier University, Germany (2021).
He is the author of a book on the poetry of Vasyl’ Stus (La lirica di Vasyl Stus, 2018) and several articles on modern and contemporary Ukrainian and Russian literature, with special attention to poetry.
Meet our designers
Our design team created an immersive digital environment set against a backdrop of vibrant, Ukrainian-inspired design.
Peter King is a Melbourne-based designer with specialist experience in the delivery of exhibitions and other design projects for cultural institutions.
With more than fifteen years of experience working in exhibition and interior design, Peter has undertaken projects with a variety of cultural organisations including Monash University, the National Gallery of Victoria, Museums Victoria, State Library Victoria, RISING Festival, Koorie Heritage Trust, University of Melbourne, National Communications Museum and Zoos Victoria
Stephanie Yap is a Melbourne-based graphic designer with a Bachelor of Visual Communication and Design from Monash University.
With over 10 years of practical experience; primarily focussing on brand and identity, promotional and environmental graphic design, Stephanie has diverse experience outside of these fields that gives her a well-rounded approach to particular projects.
Stephanie has worked for various clients including Queen Victoria Market and the National Gallery of Victoria.
Dr Yun Tae Nam completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at Monash University, specialising in Social Interaction Design. Since then he has lectured in design at RMIT University, as well as at the School of Art, Design and Architecture school at Monash University.
From 2023 he held the position of Multimedia Coordinator at Monash University Library. He is currently Assistant Professor Information Technology and Convergence Major of Visual Communication Design, at Pukyong National University, Pusan, South Korea.
Studio multimedia design team
Students from Monash Art, Design and Architecture (MADA) were employed as Multimedia Assistants to bring the poetry to life with animation and to create the interactive War Notes platform.
Learn more about Australia’s leading Ukrainian collection, held at Monash University Library, and the benefaction that made this exhibition possible.
LOCATION
Sir Louis Matheson Library The Gallery Ground floor, 40 Exhibition Walk Clayton Campus Get directions
OPENING HOURS
The exhibition can be viewed when the Library is open. View current hours.
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Content warning
This exhibition contains images and references that some viewers might find confronting. It includes themes of war, colonial conflict, forced migration, famine and displacement.
If you are affected, support is available via:
Lifeline 13 11 14
Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636
