Good news from our sister city in Ukraine, Odesa City of Literature. The project Odesa. Museum Diary of the War, developed by Olena Iliasova and Mariia Apriatova from the O.V. Bleshchunov Odesa Municipal Museum of Private Collections, has been nominated for the international ICOM COMMS Awards 2026.
The prestigious award is often compared to the Oscars of the museum world. The ICOM COMMS Award recognizes the best international achievements in modern museum communication, marketing, and digital projects.
- The graphic novel was released in Dutch and Frisian in 2025 by Afúk in a small edition and is still available for purchase.
The project is the only one from Ukraine selected from 112 submissions from 62 countries across five continents. Additionally, the graphic novel is competing in two categories:
Best Storytelling, for telling the story of preserving cultural heritage during Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, as seen through the eyes of two museum cats, Marisela and Panna Koti.
Best of the Year, the main category in which the project competes alongside leading museums from Germany, Mexico, Chile, and Palestine.
The winners of the COMMS Award are determined not only by an expert jury but also by the public through open online voting. Every vote is therefore crucial.
Will you support our sister city with your vote? Here’s how to vote:
- Click the button to view the nominated projects.
- Scroll down and click on “Open the voting form.”
- Enter your email address, complete the form, and agree to the security rules.
- Select the “Museum Diary of the War” project in two categories. To vote, you must vote in all ten categories.
- For Category 4 – Best Storytelling: select Project D – Museum Diary of War. Bleshchunov Odessa Museum (Ukraine).
- For Category 10 – Best of the Year: select Project E – Museum Diary of War. Bleshchunov Odessa Museum (Ukraine).
Voting closes on October 10.
👉 https://icom-comms.mini.icom.museum/meet-the-comms-awards-finalists-now-its-your-turn-to-vote/
