Photo exhibition “Eye contact. A view on the spectrum.”: the world through the eyes of children with autism spectrum disorders

On May 15, the official opening of our photo exhibition “Eye contact. A view in the spectrum.” The exhibition presents 19 portraits of young LEVCHYK SPECTRUM HUB visitors. Behind each of them are stories of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and their path to integration into society.

At the grand opening of the photo exhibition, the head of LEVCHYK SPECTRUM HUB, Bohdan Khomin, welcomed the audience.

“LEVCHYK SPECTRUM HUB is a safe space where children on the spectrum receive free corrective classes and develop their talents, adapt to new living conditions, relieve stress, learn to feel their body, keep balance and interact, including saying their first words. All this allows them to harmoniously integrate into our society and makes Ukraine inclusive. In addition, all the initiatives founded by the LEVCHYK SPECTRUM HUB team are aimed at drawing society’s attention to the problems of children with ASD and attracting help; the same is true of the created unique photo exhibition in which the hub’s children took part,” Bohdan noted.

In creating the exhibit, we managed to do the almost impossible —  to make eye contact with children on the spectrum, who normally avoid it, and reflect their gaze in black and white photographs. Each of them is special and unique, but as the project’s photographer Marta Greenstein says: “Different does not mean worse. After all, the first thing you should always see is the person, not his diagnosis.”

Among the guests who came to the exhibition and supported our project were the famous stylist, lecturer and TV presenter Leonid Martynchyk and blogger-volunteer Lyubov Boyko. Natalia Servatyak, a deputy of the Lviv District Council from the Servant of the People party and leader of the all-Ukrainian movement ZeWomen in the Lviv region, also visited the gallery. On her Facebook page, Natalia wrote about the unique photos and urged everyone who cares to visit the exhibition in support of children with ASD.

The exhibition will run from May 15 to June 15.

We invite everyone who wants to see these heartwarming portraits with their own eyes and join in to help children on the spectrum! Under each photo, you can read personal stories of children with ASD and follow the QR code to make a donation.

If you are not in Lviv, subscribe to the official page of the photo exhibition on Instagram. Or support the case for the development of the LEVCHYK SPECTRUM HUB with a donation!