A display featuring pieces such as “Earnest Prayer of a Woman in Lviv During Russian Invasion of Ukraine” and “Lighting Candles on Christmas Day in Kyiv” is currently featured at College of the Ozarks.

College of the Ozarks will be hosting the “Ukraine: Unfinished Homework” exhibition, which will be showcased in the Boger Art Gallery on the first floor of the Jones Learning Center. The gallery is open to the public, Jan. 20, – Feb. 17, 2026, Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Guests from the community are invited to attend this exhibition, and all events are free and open to the public.

Exhibition Themes: Determination and Resilience

The exhibition features the work of Tennessee-based photographer and writer Joel Carillet, who has been photographing the people of Ukraine since 2015. He returned to Ukraine in February 2022 just before the Russian invasion. He covered the earliest days of that conflict and has returned periodically to continue his documentation of the war’s impact on the Ukrainian people. His last visit to the Ukraine was in the Summer of 2025. During his time in the country, Carillet has documented the raw and emotional moments experienced by Ukrainians as they confronted the reality of an impending war, and he has continued capturing powerful images that reflect both the uncertainty and resilience of the Ukrainian people as they endure an extended conflict.

The exhibition’s title comes from a conversation Carillet had with a Ukrainian woman named Olena during an overnight train ride from Poland to Kyiv. She shared that her husband had joined the Ukrainian army while her teenage daughter was evacuated to Germany. Olena explained that although Ukraine gained independence in the early 1990s, the threat of Russian aggression had always remained. “We have unfinished homework,” she said — a phrase that came to represent the determination and resilience Carillet witnessed throughout the country.

Sophomore business administration major Sydney Rice explores the exhibit.

“This exhibition connects our small community in the Ozarks to the humanity of the Ukrainian people who are suffering because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine,” said Dr. Richard Cummings, professor of art at College of the Ozarks and director of the Boger Gallery. “I hope that when people view these images in the gallery that they will see themselves and their loved ones reflected in the faces that look back at them.”

Upcoming Lecture

Boger Gallery will host Carillet for a lecture and reception on Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m. in the Gittinger Recital Hall. The lecture will explore what it is like to live as a traveling photographer and will touch on themes surrounding, “Who are we, and who is my neighbor?” Carillet will be on campus the entire day, visiting classes and speaking to students in the art and visual communications departments prior to the evening.

The Cultural Pillar of the College is to cultivate an appreciation of the fine arts, an understanding of the world, and adherence to high personal standards.

Email bogergallery@cofo.edu or call 417-690-2255 for inquiries regarding the exhibit.

Three of Carillet’s photos titled “Ukrainian Soldier’s Grave in Kharkiv,” “Soldier’s Grave in Lviv, Ukraine,” and “Memorial to Pete Reed in Kyiv, Ukraine” are part of the featured exhibit.

About Joel Carillet

Joel Carillet is a Tennessee photographer and writer who works primarily overseas. Since 2022, the bulk of his work has been focused on Ukraine and the Middle East. Carillet has traveled to numerous countries including Ukraine, Egypt, the West Bank, Beijing, and Istanbul. His work has appeared in Christian Science Monitor, Christianity Today, and The New York Times.

For additional information, contact Public Relations Director Valorie Coleman at (417) 690-2212.