Ukrainian Social Club is a collaboration between Backlit and the Nottingham Ukrainian Cultural Centre based in Carrington, Sherwood, focusing on Ciaran Spencer’s photography alongside artefacts representing Nottingham’s Ukrainian community across 75 years. It is an intimate, emotionally layered exhibition merging portraiture, film, textiles and tradition to tell a story of resilience across generations in the face of war and displacement.
Gaining entry to the Backlit gallery requires being buzzed in from downstairs, an act that heightens the feeling of stepping into something protected and personal. Inside Backlit’s old, restored factory building, the sound of footsteps and the creak of wooden floorboards contrast against the glow of chatter and Ukrainian music which fills the space. The sound bounces off of the walls, creating a sense of welcoming, as if stepping into a friend’s home during a bustling gathering.
The first room is bright and airy, its walls are lined with Spencer’s portraits. Sharp, beautifully lit images capturing members of Nottingham’s Ukrainian community against simple yet poignant backdrops enriched with objects representing elements of Ukrainian culture. However, the portraits have a lot more to say than meets the eye. Shadows fall behind the sitters in a way that feels intentionally heavy, suggesting the long, ongoing shadow of displacement.
Traditional garments, religious artworks draped in colourful hand-woven textiles, and objects showcasing Ukrainian petrykivka painting share the room, transforming the gallery into a cultural space rather than a purely visual one
The music and voices drifting from further inside the gallery draw the viewer onward into a darker room where a screen cycles through reels of footage, old and new, each one informative and captivating. One film reflects on families who fled World War II; another documents recent arrivals rebuilding life amid ongoing conflict. Shots of soldiers and tanks are contrasted with images of Christmas celebrations and tradition in the form of dress, dance and song which has been preserved over this time, underscoring the idea that culture can survive displacement when it is enacted collectively.
In this film, cabbage, wheat and onions sit honoured on the table, the symbolism is unmistakable, food is a representation of sustenance and survival, especially poignant for a people whose history includes the Holodomor. The support Nottingham residents have offered throughout the conflict, highlighting the solidarity that has grown within the city between people and cultures is also displayed in another reel.
Spencer, a London-based freelance fashion and portrait photographer who graduated from NTU, first photographed Nottingham’s Ukrainian community in 2001. Many of his early sitters were families shaped by the displacement of World War II. Returning in 2024, this exhibition documents a new generation, those who have fled the current Russian invasion and those born here, inheriting a culture carried carefully across borders. The continuity between these portraits, then and now, forms one of the exhibition’s most moving threads.
One portrait in particular has caught national attention, the Zhyhunova family, winners of the Portrait of Britain. Brightly composed, the three generations stand tall together, conveying unwavering strength. This three-generation family portrait anchors these themes, heritage passed down, not lost.
Traditional garments, religious artworks draped in colourful hand-woven textiles, and objects showcasing Ukrainian petrykivka painting share the room, transforming the gallery into a cultural space rather than a purely visual one. The quiet dignity of the portraits is reinforced by these objects, embroidered shirts, woven cloths, symbols of wheat and sunflowers, icons of nourishment, hope and defiance.
Though an hour is enough to walk through the five rooms, it barely scratches the depth of what is presented. Ukrainian Social Club is not only a documentation of war or diaspora; it is a celebration of cultural endurance. While the presence of suffering is acknowledged, the exhibition leans firmly toward images of strength. Spencer’s subjects hold themselves as custodians of a vibrant identity carried across decades and borders.
In the gallery leaflet, the Ukrainian Centre extends an invitation: come and join in. That sentiment underpins the entire exhibition. This is not a closed history, but a living conversation, one that Nottingham has supported for 75 years, and one that Spencer’s work honours with clarity and care.
Ukrainian Social Club took place at Backlit Gallery between 24 Oct - 14 November.
On Wednesday 26 November Ciaran Spencer will share the stories behind his 25-year project in a free Zoom event. Click here for more info.
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