Ruslan Kurt / Doors: Through the Horror of War

Ruslan Kurt is a Ukrainian artist based in Toronto. His installation Doors: Through the Horror of War has eight actual doors – some damaged and burned – from in and around Ukraine since the war began.  

“On February 24, 2022, the war knocked on the door of every Ukrainian,” Kurt explains. His installation tells the stories of millions of Ukrainians who were forced to cross the doors of their homes to escape the war and terror brought by Russian soldiers. 

Many of them died without being able to get out.  

The doors come from Ukrainian homes, theatres, hospitals, kindergartens, and other everyday buildings. They speak to the transience of life and how, in war, everything we count on can change in a single heartbeat.  

A Traveling Exhibition

Doors has been touring to cities across Canada for since October 2022. The doors for the exhibition were brought to Canada from Ukraine by the Bloor West Village Toronto Ukrainian Festival.