Winter Is Coming. How Is the Art World Supporting Ukraine?
Recent efforts to assist Ukraine include a million dollar donation from the Getty Trust, a cross-border arts assembly, a new Banksy, and an exhibition in a former hair salon.
Polina Kuznetsova, My Hero (Zelenskyy) Dreams (2020). Oil on canvas. 120 x 120 cm. Courtesy the artist and Sonya.
Nine months into Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, over 100,000 soldiers have died on either side along with 40,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to General Mark Milley, the chairman of America's Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Recent events suggest the war is turning in Ukraine's favour, with Russia withdrawing troops from the city of Kherson, and another US $400 million in American military aid on its way.
But winter is likely to slow Ukrainian progress as roads become impassable and Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure become more consequential, hampering access to warmth and shelter. The war has already displaced some 15 to 30 million Ukrainians.
Art world efforts to support Ukrainians and Ukrainian culture are ongoing.
A new Banksy painting has appeared on a bombed building in Borodyanka, Ukraine. The painting depicts a gymnast balancing on the rubble.
The J. Paul Getty Trust has given US $1 million to the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (Aliph) to preserve Ukraine's museums and monuments. Aliph has already spent US $3 million on their Ukrainian Action Plan, which has seen 160 Ukrainian collections transferred into safe storage since February.
ArtsLink Assembly is devoting their fifth annual assembly to Ukraine. Produced in partnership with the Ukrainian Institute, Greener Grass?: Cultivating transborder connections between Ukrainian cultural communities will bring together Ukrainian artists and curators in Warsaw, Poland, from 30 November to 2 December. The event's keynote speaker is Basel-based cultural critic and curator Kateryna Botanova.
'In order to rebuild Ukraine, there must be a robust and shared vision for the support of artists and their vital and sustainable role in the reconstruction of Ukrainian civil society,' said Simon Dove, executive director of ArtsLink.
A projection by Kyiv-based studio PHOTINUS is showing as part of Chicago's Art on theMART series until 17 November. Shchedryk: Carol of The Bells is a response to a Ukrainian New Year's song known in English as 'The Little Swallow'.
And in Manhattan, popup art gallery Sonya is presenting works by 10 Ukrainian artists to raise funds for the Sunflower Network, which has already delivered over US $1 million in aid to Ukraine, including hygiene products at 4x4 vehicles.
Sonya's inaugural exhibition was put together with works Sunflower Network director Jack Chase brought back from Ukraine in his suitcase.
It includes the paintings Protectress (2022) by Tata Kolesnik and My Hero (Zelenskyy) Dreams (2020) by Polina Kuznetsova, and the leather sculpture Cyberdog Gasmask (2010) by artist Bob Basset, also known as Serhii Petrov.
The exhibition continues at a former hair salon located at 352 East 13th Street until 2 December, and further exhibitions are planned.
Chase originally visited Ukraine to photograph and shoot video of the Sunflower Network's activities. On the ground, he observed how the war had impacted cultural production.
'There's all this wonderful street art in Kiev and all of it was super centred around conflict. War has affected the work they make, and the art that's for sale in cafés, galleries, and museums,' Chase said.
Many of the works from the exhibition have already been sold or reserved, with proceeds being split between the artists and funding Sunflower Network's aid efforts.
Chase said Sunflower Network makes its purchases as late as possible to ensure they can meet the most pressing needs. Heading into winter, he said, 'The biggest thing now is people need jackets. It gets cold.' —[O]
