Qalqans: Protecting Crimean Tatar Heritage

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This exhibition shows photographs of ceramic shields created by modern Crimean Tatar master-ceramicist and artist, Rustem Skybin.

The Crimean Tatars are the indigenous people of Crimea, Ukraine.

Each image depicts a version of a qalqan (shield), a decorative piece inspired by the traditional decorations of military artefacts.

Skybin draws on designs once found on Crimean Tatar weapons, coins, and textiles. His shields transform fragments of the past into powerful symbols of survival, belonging, and resistance.

Hear from Rustem Skybin

Consultation group

For this display we worked with a London based Crimean Tatar consultation group, who provided reflections on the exhibition themes and helped with the text.

Elmaz Alimova

Elmaz Alimova is a Chevening Scholar and LSE MSc graduate in Human Rights and Politics, with a focus on indigenous rights and the self-determination of Crimean Tatars. She has worked in the Ukrainian government on Crimean Tatar human rights protection and in countering Russian disinformation and propaganda campaigns following the 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Ediie Kataman

Ediie Kataman was born in Crimea. As a teenager, she began working as a TV presenter and radio host on a Crimean Tatar channel in Simferopol, focusing on national language, identity, and culture.

Selime Khalilova

Selime is a Crimean Tatar professional working at the crossroads of culture, diaspora, and post-conflict recovery. Selime has contributed to initiatives with the European Union Delegation to Ukraine, Transparency International, and civil society networks supporting cultural preservation and democratic renewal. Her work celebrates the resilience of displaced communities and the power of heritage to heal and connect.

Emine Ziyatdinova

Emine Ziyatdinova is a Crimean Tatar documentary photographer and co-founder of Ukrainian Warchive, digital photo archive of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Her experience places her at the intersection of documentary photography, sociology, human rights and journalism. Her work has been supported by a Fulbright Scholarship and a Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund Fellowship and her photography projects have been exhibited in Ukraine as well as internationally.

Lead image: This design draws from an ornate 17th-century soldier’s shield, combining dense floral motifs with the tamga—the emblem of the Giray dynasty and the symbol of the Crimean Tatar flag. © Rustem Skybin