The Art World’s Response to the War in Ukraine
We investigate the various ways that galleries, artists, and the art world at large have responded to the war in Ukraine
By
Hana Krkoska
April 5, 2022
In a previous article, we investigated the effects that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had on the art scene, both in the country and around the world. In this follow-up, we take a look at the art world’s response to the ongoing war, as well as the ways galleries and artists around the world are supporting the people of Ukraine.
The arts activist Yevgenia Belorusets has released a book of short stories entitled Lucky Break, which chronicles Ukrainian tales from 2014 onwards. Previously known for her photography of exploited workers displayed at the Venice Biennale, the collection of stories is interspersed with black-and-white photographs of Ukrainian residents, while the stories themselves all follow women displaced by war, navigating their way through a traumatised community. Most of the tales are heavily inspired by fairytale imagery and offer a heightened - though no less uncompromising - view of the region under attack.
Meanwhile, Manhattan’s SVA Galleries were criticised recently for scheduling the exhibition Perevorot (Revolution) Illustrated; curated by Moscow-based artist Natasha Konyukova, the open call for the exhibition stated its aim of “protest[ing] the repression of Russian artists, journalists and citizens. However, while the show was presented as “an international exhibition showing solidarity with the people of Ukraine”, many criticised its limiting criteria for the works to be displayed, in particular the stipulation “photographs may not contain documentary images of the war in Ukraine”.
Among the critics of the exhibition was New York-based Ukrainian artist Luba Drozd, who commented that “Solidarity with people of Ukraine is giving Ukrainians voices and space”, before accusing the show of “exploiting Ukrainian pain [...] to promote Russian voices”. Ukrainian artist Valerie Malaja echoed this sentiment, adding that to actually support Ukraine, the gallery would do better to “give voice to our artists, speak about Ukrainians, show pictures from the war”. Following this backlash and a petition from Drozd describing the show as ‘performative allyship’, SVA Galleries swiftly announced their withdrawal from the show, citing the lack of emphasis given to Ukrainian voices.
Ukrainian-Russian artist Aljoscha staged an anti-war protest on 22nd February, standing naked in front of Kyiv’s Motherland Monument. The monument, standing at 62 metres tall, forms part of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, and was constructed in 1981. As part of his artistic protest, Aljoscha raised two pink sculptures made of fibreglass, plastic and acrylic above his head, reflecting the motif found throughout his work of ‘bioism’, constructing new life by extending it to non-living objects. In a statement, Aljoscha noted that “There [are] no justified conflicts, all of them are criminal, causing violence and pain to all kind[s] of biological beings. Any kind of human ideology is violent per se”.
In response to the war in Ukraine, the directors of the Artist Support Pledge, a movement which launched to help struggling artists during the pandemic, launched the Ukraine Support Pledge to raise funds for GlobalGiving. To participate and support the people of Ukraine, artists can upload their work to Instagram with the hashtags #artistsupportpledge and #ukrainesupportpledge, to be sold for a suggested donation of £200. At the movement’s launch, it raised £60k in just 7 days, 100% of which went directly to the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund. Donations can also be made directly on the Ukraine Support Pledge’s JustGiving page.
In a previous article, we investigated the effects that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had on the art scene, both in the country and around the world. In this follow-up, we take a look at the art world’s response to the ongoing war, as well as the ways galleries and artists around the world are supporting the people of Ukraine.
The arts activist Yevgenia Belorusets has released a book of short stories entitled Lucky Break, which chronicles Ukrainian tales from 2014 onwards. Previously known for her photography of exploited workers displayed at the Venice Biennale, the collection of stories is interspersed with black-and-white photographs of Ukrainian residents, while the stories themselves all follow women displaced by war, navigating their way through a traumatised community. Most of the tales are heavily inspired by fairytale imagery and offer a heightened - though no less uncompromising - view of the region under attack.
Meanwhile, Manhattan’s SVA Galleries were criticised recently for scheduling the exhibition Perevorot (Revolution) Illustrated; curated by Moscow-based artist Natasha Konyukova, the open call for the exhibition stated its aim of “protest[ing] the repression of Russian artists, journalists and citizens. However, while the show was presented as “an international exhibition showing solidarity with the people of Ukraine”, many criticised its limiting criteria for the works to be displayed, in particular the stipulation “photographs may not contain documentary images of the war in Ukraine”.
Among the critics of the exhibition was New York-based Ukrainian artist Luba Drozd, who commented that “Solidarity with people of Ukraine is giving Ukrainians voices and space”, before accusing the show of “exploiting Ukrainian pain [...] to promote Russian voices”. Ukrainian artist Valerie Malaja echoed this sentiment, adding that to actually support Ukraine, the gallery would do better to “give voice to our artists, speak about Ukrainians, show pictures from the war”. Following this backlash and a petition from Drozd describing the show as ‘performative allyship’, SVA Galleries swiftly announced their withdrawal from the show, citing the lack of emphasis given to Ukrainian voices.
Ukrainian-Russian artist Aljoscha staged an anti-war protest on 22nd February, standing naked in front of Kyiv’s Motherland Monument. The monument, standing at 62 metres tall, forms part of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, and was constructed in 1981. As part of his artistic protest, Aljoscha raised two pink sculptures made of fibreglass, plastic and acrylic above his head, reflecting the motif found throughout his work of ‘bioism’, constructing new life by extending it to non-living objects. In a statement, Aljoscha noted that “There [are] no justified conflicts, all of them are criminal, causing violence and pain to all kind[s] of biological beings. Any kind of human ideology is violent per se”.
In response to the war in Ukraine, the directors of the Artist Support Pledge, a movement which launched to help struggling artists during the pandemic, launched the Ukraine Support Pledge to raise funds for GlobalGiving. To participate and support the people of Ukraine, artists can upload their work to Instagram with the hashtags #artistsupportpledge and #ukrainesupportpledge, to be sold for a suggested donation of £200. At the movement’s launch, it raised £60k in just 7 days, 100% of which went directly to the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund. Donations can also be made directly on the Ukraine Support Pledge’s JustGiving page.
In a previous article, we investigated the effects that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had on the art scene, both in the country and around the world. In this follow-up, we take a look at the art world’s response to the ongoing war, as well as the ways galleries and artists around the world are supporting the people of Ukraine.
The arts activist Yevgenia Belorusets has released a book of short stories entitled Lucky Break, which chronicles Ukrainian tales from 2014 onwards. Previously known for her photography of exploited workers displayed at the Venice Biennale, the collection of stories is interspersed with black-and-white photographs of Ukrainian residents, while the stories themselves all follow women displaced by war, navigating their way through a traumatised community. Most of the tales are heavily inspired by fairytale imagery and offer a heightened - though no less uncompromising - view of the region under attack.
Meanwhile, Manhattan’s SVA Galleries were criticised recently for scheduling the exhibition Perevorot (Revolution) Illustrated; curated by Moscow-based artist Natasha Konyukova, the open call for the exhibition stated its aim of “protest[ing] the repression of Russian artists, journalists and citizens. However, while the show was presented as “an international exhibition showing solidarity with the people of Ukraine”, many criticised its limiting criteria for the works to be displayed, in particular the stipulation “photographs may not contain documentary images of the war in Ukraine”.
Among the critics of the exhibition was New York-based Ukrainian artist Luba Drozd, who commented that “Solidarity with people of Ukraine is giving Ukrainians voices and space”, before accusing the show of “exploiting Ukrainian pain [...] to promote Russian voices”. Ukrainian artist Valerie Malaja echoed this sentiment, adding that to actually support Ukraine, the gallery would do better to “give voice to our artists, speak about Ukrainians, show pictures from the war”. Following this backlash and a petition from Drozd describing the show as ‘performative allyship’, SVA Galleries swiftly announced their withdrawal from the show, citing the lack of emphasis given to Ukrainian voices.
Ukrainian-Russian artist Aljoscha staged an anti-war protest on 22nd February, standing naked in front of Kyiv’s Motherland Monument. The monument, standing at 62 metres tall, forms part of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, and was constructed in 1981. As part of his artistic protest, Aljoscha raised two pink sculptures made of fibreglass, plastic and acrylic above his head, reflecting the motif found throughout his work of ‘bioism’, constructing new life by extending it to non-living objects. In a statement, Aljoscha noted that “There [are] no justified conflicts, all of them are criminal, causing violence and pain to all kind[s] of biological beings. Any kind of human ideology is violent per se”.
In response to the war in Ukraine, the directors of the Artist Support Pledge, a movement which launched to help struggling artists during the pandemic, launched the Ukraine Support Pledge to raise funds for GlobalGiving. To participate and support the people of Ukraine, artists can upload their work to Instagram with the hashtags #artistsupportpledge and #ukrainesupportpledge, to be sold for a suggested donation of £200. At the movement’s launch, it raised £60k in just 7 days, 100% of which went directly to the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund. Donations can also be made directly on the Ukraine Support Pledge’s JustGiving page.
In a previous article, we investigated the effects that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had on the art scene, both in the country and around the world. In this follow-up, we take a look at the art world’s response to the ongoing war, as well as the ways galleries and artists around the world are supporting the people of Ukraine.
The arts activist Yevgenia Belorusets has released a book of short stories entitled Lucky Break, which chronicles Ukrainian tales from 2014 onwards. Previously known for her photography of exploited workers displayed at the Venice Biennale, the collection of stories is interspersed with black-and-white photographs of Ukrainian residents, while the stories themselves all follow women displaced by war, navigating their way through a traumatised community. Most of the tales are heavily inspired by fairytale imagery and offer a heightened - though no less uncompromising - view of the region under attack.
Meanwhile, Manhattan’s SVA Galleries were criticised recently for scheduling the exhibition Perevorot (Revolution) Illustrated; curated by Moscow-based artist Natasha Konyukova, the open call for the exhibition stated its aim of “protest[ing] the repression of Russian artists, journalists and citizens. However, while the show was presented as “an international exhibition showing solidarity with the people of Ukraine”, many criticised its limiting criteria for the works to be displayed, in particular the stipulation “photographs may not contain documentary images of the war in Ukraine”.
Among the critics of the exhibition was New York-based Ukrainian artist Luba Drozd, who commented that “Solidarity with people of Ukraine is giving Ukrainians voices and space”, before accusing the show of “exploiting Ukrainian pain [...] to promote Russian voices”. Ukrainian artist Valerie Malaja echoed this sentiment, adding that to actually support Ukraine, the gallery would do better to “give voice to our artists, speak about Ukrainians, show pictures from the war”. Following this backlash and a petition from Drozd describing the show as ‘performative allyship’, SVA Galleries swiftly announced their withdrawal from the show, citing the lack of emphasis given to Ukrainian voices.
Ukrainian-Russian artist Aljoscha staged an anti-war protest on 22nd February, standing naked in front of Kyiv’s Motherland Monument. The monument, standing at 62 metres tall, forms part of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, and was constructed in 1981. As part of his artistic protest, Aljoscha raised two pink sculptures made of fibreglass, plastic and acrylic above his head, reflecting the motif found throughout his work of ‘bioism’, constructing new life by extending it to non-living objects. In a statement, Aljoscha noted that “There [are] no justified conflicts, all of them are criminal, causing violence and pain to all kind[s] of biological beings. Any kind of human ideology is violent per se”.
In response to the war in Ukraine, the directors of the Artist Support Pledge, a movement which launched to help struggling artists during the pandemic, launched the Ukraine Support Pledge to raise funds for GlobalGiving. To participate and support the people of Ukraine, artists can upload their work to Instagram with the hashtags #artistsupportpledge and #ukrainesupportpledge, to be sold for a suggested donation of £200. At the movement’s launch, it raised £60k in just 7 days, 100% of which went directly to the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund. Donations can also be made directly on the Ukraine Support Pledge’s JustGiving page.
In a previous article, we investigated the effects that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had on the art scene, both in the country and around the world. In this follow-up, we take a look at the art world’s response to the ongoing war, as well as the ways galleries and artists around the world are supporting the people of Ukraine.
The arts activist Yevgenia Belorusets has released a book of short stories entitled Lucky Break, which chronicles Ukrainian tales from 2014 onwards. Previously known for her photography of exploited workers displayed at the Venice Biennale, the collection of stories is interspersed with black-and-white photographs of Ukrainian residents, while the stories themselves all follow women displaced by war, navigating their way through a traumatised community. Most of the tales are heavily inspired by fairytale imagery and offer a heightened - though no less uncompromising - view of the region under attack.
Meanwhile, Manhattan’s SVA Galleries were criticised recently for scheduling the exhibition Perevorot (Revolution) Illustrated; curated by Moscow-based artist Natasha Konyukova, the open call for the exhibition stated its aim of “protest[ing] the repression of Russian artists, journalists and citizens. However, while the show was presented as “an international exhibition showing solidarity with the people of Ukraine”, many criticised its limiting criteria for the works to be displayed, in particular the stipulation “photographs may not contain documentary images of the war in Ukraine”.
Among the critics of the exhibition was New York-based Ukrainian artist Luba Drozd, who commented that “Solidarity with people of Ukraine is giving Ukrainians voices and space”, before accusing the show of “exploiting Ukrainian pain [...] to promote Russian voices”. Ukrainian artist Valerie Malaja echoed this sentiment, adding that to actually support Ukraine, the gallery would do better to “give voice to our artists, speak about Ukrainians, show pictures from the war”. Following this backlash and a petition from Drozd describing the show as ‘performative allyship’, SVA Galleries swiftly announced their withdrawal from the show, citing the lack of emphasis given to Ukrainian voices.
Ukrainian-Russian artist Aljoscha staged an anti-war protest on 22nd February, standing naked in front of Kyiv’s Motherland Monument. The monument, standing at 62 metres tall, forms part of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, and was constructed in 1981. As part of his artistic protest, Aljoscha raised two pink sculptures made of fibreglass, plastic and acrylic above his head, reflecting the motif found throughout his work of ‘bioism’, constructing new life by extending it to non-living objects. In a statement, Aljoscha noted that “There [are] no justified conflicts, all of them are criminal, causing violence and pain to all kind[s] of biological beings. Any kind of human ideology is violent per se”.
In response to the war in Ukraine, the directors of the Artist Support Pledge, a movement which launched to help struggling artists during the pandemic, launched the Ukraine Support Pledge to raise funds for GlobalGiving. To participate and support the people of Ukraine, artists can upload their work to Instagram with the hashtags #artistsupportpledge and #ukrainesupportpledge, to be sold for a suggested donation of £200. At the movement’s launch, it raised £60k in just 7 days, 100% of which went directly to the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund. Donations can also be made directly on the Ukraine Support Pledge’s JustGiving page.
In a previous article, we investigated the effects that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had on the art scene, both in the country and around the world. In this follow-up, we take a look at the art world’s response to the ongoing war, as well as the ways galleries and artists around the world are supporting the people of Ukraine.
The arts activist Yevgenia Belorusets has released a book of short stories entitled Lucky Break, which chronicles Ukrainian tales from 2014 onwards. Previously known for her photography of exploited workers displayed at the Venice Biennale, the collection of stories is interspersed with black-and-white photographs of Ukrainian residents, while the stories themselves all follow women displaced by war, navigating their way through a traumatised community. Most of the tales are heavily inspired by fairytale imagery and offer a heightened - though no less uncompromising - view of the region under attack.
Meanwhile, Manhattan’s SVA Galleries were criticised recently for scheduling the exhibition Perevorot (Revolution) Illustrated; curated by Moscow-based artist Natasha Konyukova, the open call for the exhibition stated its aim of “protest[ing] the repression of Russian artists, journalists and citizens. However, while the show was presented as “an international exhibition showing solidarity with the people of Ukraine”, many criticised its limiting criteria for the works to be displayed, in particular the stipulation “photographs may not contain documentary images of the war in Ukraine”.
Among the critics of the exhibition was New York-based Ukrainian artist Luba Drozd, who commented that “Solidarity with people of Ukraine is giving Ukrainians voices and space”, before accusing the show of “exploiting Ukrainian pain [...] to promote Russian voices”. Ukrainian artist Valerie Malaja echoed this sentiment, adding that to actually support Ukraine, the gallery would do better to “give voice to our artists, speak about Ukrainians, show pictures from the war”. Following this backlash and a petition from Drozd describing the show as ‘performative allyship’, SVA Galleries swiftly announced their withdrawal from the show, citing the lack of emphasis given to Ukrainian voices.
Ukrainian-Russian artist Aljoscha staged an anti-war protest on 22nd February, standing naked in front of Kyiv’s Motherland Monument. The monument, standing at 62 metres tall, forms part of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, and was constructed in 1981. As part of his artistic protest, Aljoscha raised two pink sculptures made of fibreglass, plastic and acrylic above his head, reflecting the motif found throughout his work of ‘bioism’, constructing new life by extending it to non-living objects. In a statement, Aljoscha noted that “There [are] no justified conflicts, all of them are criminal, causing violence and pain to all kind[s] of biological beings. Any kind of human ideology is violent per se”.
In response to the war in Ukraine, the directors of the Artist Support Pledge, a movement which launched to help struggling artists during the pandemic, launched the Ukraine Support Pledge to raise funds for GlobalGiving. To participate and support the people of Ukraine, artists can upload their work to Instagram with the hashtags #artistsupportpledge and #ukrainesupportpledge, to be sold for a suggested donation of £200. At the movement’s launch, it raised £60k in just 7 days, 100% of which went directly to the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund. Donations can also be made directly on the Ukraine Support Pledge’s JustGiving page.
In a previous article, we investigated the effects that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had on the art scene, both in the country and around the world. In this follow-up, we take a look at the art world’s response to the ongoing war, as well as the ways galleries and artists around the world are supporting the people of Ukraine.
The arts activist Yevgenia Belorusets has released a book of short stories entitled Lucky Break, which chronicles Ukrainian tales from 2014 onwards. Previously known for her photography of exploited workers displayed at the Venice Biennale, the collection of stories is interspersed with black-and-white photographs of Ukrainian residents, while the stories themselves all follow women displaced by war, navigating their way through a traumatised community. Most of the tales are heavily inspired by fairytale imagery and offer a heightened - though no less uncompromising - view of the region under attack.
Meanwhile, Manhattan’s SVA Galleries were criticised recently for scheduling the exhibition Perevorot (Revolution) Illustrated; curated by Moscow-based artist Natasha Konyukova, the open call for the exhibition stated its aim of “protest[ing] the repression of Russian artists, journalists and citizens. However, while the show was presented as “an international exhibition showing solidarity with the people of Ukraine”, many criticised its limiting criteria for the works to be displayed, in particular the stipulation “photographs may not contain documentary images of the war in Ukraine”.
Among the critics of the exhibition was New York-based Ukrainian artist Luba Drozd, who commented that “Solidarity with people of Ukraine is giving Ukrainians voices and space”, before accusing the show of “exploiting Ukrainian pain [...] to promote Russian voices”. Ukrainian artist Valerie Malaja echoed this sentiment, adding that to actually support Ukraine, the gallery would do better to “give voice to our artists, speak about Ukrainians, show pictures from the war”. Following this backlash and a petition from Drozd describing the show as ‘performative allyship’, SVA Galleries swiftly announced their withdrawal from the show, citing the lack of emphasis given to Ukrainian voices.
Ukrainian-Russian artist Aljoscha staged an anti-war protest on 22nd February, standing naked in front of Kyiv’s Motherland Monument. The monument, standing at 62 metres tall, forms part of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, and was constructed in 1981. As part of his artistic protest, Aljoscha raised two pink sculptures made of fibreglass, plastic and acrylic above his head, reflecting the motif found throughout his work of ‘bioism’, constructing new life by extending it to non-living objects. In a statement, Aljoscha noted that “There [are] no justified conflicts, all of them are criminal, causing violence and pain to all kind[s] of biological beings. Any kind of human ideology is violent per se”.
In response to the war in Ukraine, the directors of the Artist Support Pledge, a movement which launched to help struggling artists during the pandemic, launched the Ukraine Support Pledge to raise funds for GlobalGiving. To participate and support the people of Ukraine, artists can upload their work to Instagram with the hashtags #artistsupportpledge and #ukrainesupportpledge, to be sold for a suggested donation of £200. At the movement’s launch, it raised £60k in just 7 days, 100% of which went directly to the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund. Donations can also be made directly on the Ukraine Support Pledge’s JustGiving page.
In a previous article, we investigated the effects that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had on the art scene, both in the country and around the world. In this follow-up, we take a look at the art world’s response to the ongoing war, as well as the ways galleries and artists around the world are supporting the people of Ukraine.
The arts activist Yevgenia Belorusets has released a book of short stories entitled Lucky Break, which chronicles Ukrainian tales from 2014 onwards. Previously known for her photography of exploited workers displayed at the Venice Biennale, the collection of stories is interspersed with black-and-white photographs of Ukrainian residents, while the stories themselves all follow women displaced by war, navigating their way through a traumatised community. Most of the tales are heavily inspired by fairytale imagery and offer a heightened - though no less uncompromising - view of the region under attack.
Meanwhile, Manhattan’s SVA Galleries were criticised recently for scheduling the exhibition Perevorot (Revolution) Illustrated; curated by Moscow-based artist Natasha Konyukova, the open call for the exhibition stated its aim of “protest[ing] the repression of Russian artists, journalists and citizens. However, while the show was presented as “an international exhibition showing solidarity with the people of Ukraine”, many criticised its limiting criteria for the works to be displayed, in particular the stipulation “photographs may not contain documentary images of the war in Ukraine”.
Among the critics of the exhibition was New York-based Ukrainian artist Luba Drozd, who commented that “Solidarity with people of Ukraine is giving Ukrainians voices and space”, before accusing the show of “exploiting Ukrainian pain [...] to promote Russian voices”. Ukrainian artist Valerie Malaja echoed this sentiment, adding that to actually support Ukraine, the gallery would do better to “give voice to our artists, speak about Ukrainians, show pictures from the war”. Following this backlash and a petition from Drozd describing the show as ‘performative allyship’, SVA Galleries swiftly announced their withdrawal from the show, citing the lack of emphasis given to Ukrainian voices.
Ukrainian-Russian artist Aljoscha staged an anti-war protest on 22nd February, standing naked in front of Kyiv’s Motherland Monument. The monument, standing at 62 metres tall, forms part of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, and was constructed in 1981. As part of his artistic protest, Aljoscha raised two pink sculptures made of fibreglass, plastic and acrylic above his head, reflecting the motif found throughout his work of ‘bioism’, constructing new life by extending it to non-living objects. In a statement, Aljoscha noted that “There [are] no justified conflicts, all of them are criminal, causing violence and pain to all kind[s] of biological beings. Any kind of human ideology is violent per se”.
In response to the war in Ukraine, the directors of the Artist Support Pledge, a movement which launched to help struggling artists during the pandemic, launched the Ukraine Support Pledge to raise funds for GlobalGiving. To participate and support the people of Ukraine, artists can upload their work to Instagram with the hashtags #artistsupportpledge and #ukrainesupportpledge, to be sold for a suggested donation of £200. At the movement’s launch, it raised £60k in just 7 days, 100% of which went directly to the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund. Donations can also be made directly on the Ukraine Support Pledge’s JustGiving page.
In a previous article, we investigated the effects that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had on the art scene, both in the country and around the world. In this follow-up, we take a look at the art world’s response to the ongoing war, as well as the ways galleries and artists around the world are supporting the people of Ukraine.
The arts activist Yevgenia Belorusets has released a book of short stories entitled Lucky Break, which chronicles Ukrainian tales from 2014 onwards. Previously known for her photography of exploited workers displayed at the Venice Biennale, the collection of stories is interspersed with black-and-white photographs of Ukrainian residents, while the stories themselves all follow women displaced by war, navigating their way through a traumatised community. Most of the tales are heavily inspired by fairytale imagery and offer a heightened - though no less uncompromising - view of the region under attack.
Meanwhile, Manhattan’s SVA Galleries were criticised recently for scheduling the exhibition Perevorot (Revolution) Illustrated; curated by Moscow-based artist Natasha Konyukova, the open call for the exhibition stated its aim of “protest[ing] the repression of Russian artists, journalists and citizens. However, while the show was presented as “an international exhibition showing solidarity with the people of Ukraine”, many criticised its limiting criteria for the works to be displayed, in particular the stipulation “photographs may not contain documentary images of the war in Ukraine”.
Among the critics of the exhibition was New York-based Ukrainian artist Luba Drozd, who commented that “Solidarity with people of Ukraine is giving Ukrainians voices and space”, before accusing the show of “exploiting Ukrainian pain [...] to promote Russian voices”. Ukrainian artist Valerie Malaja echoed this sentiment, adding that to actually support Ukraine, the gallery would do better to “give voice to our artists, speak about Ukrainians, show pictures from the war”. Following this backlash and a petition from Drozd describing the show as ‘performative allyship’, SVA Galleries swiftly announced their withdrawal from the show, citing the lack of emphasis given to Ukrainian voices.
Ukrainian-Russian artist Aljoscha staged an anti-war protest on 22nd February, standing naked in front of Kyiv’s Motherland Monument. The monument, standing at 62 metres tall, forms part of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, and was constructed in 1981. As part of his artistic protest, Aljoscha raised two pink sculptures made of fibreglass, plastic and acrylic above his head, reflecting the motif found throughout his work of ‘bioism’, constructing new life by extending it to non-living objects. In a statement, Aljoscha noted that “There [are] no justified conflicts, all of them are criminal, causing violence and pain to all kind[s] of biological beings. Any kind of human ideology is violent per se”.
In response to the war in Ukraine, the directors of the Artist Support Pledge, a movement which launched to help struggling artists during the pandemic, launched the Ukraine Support Pledge to raise funds for GlobalGiving. To participate and support the people of Ukraine, artists can upload their work to Instagram with the hashtags #artistsupportpledge and #ukrainesupportpledge, to be sold for a suggested donation of £200. At the movement’s launch, it raised £60k in just 7 days, 100% of which went directly to the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund. Donations can also be made directly on the Ukraine Support Pledge’s JustGiving page.
In a previous article, we investigated the effects that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had on the art scene, both in the country and around the world. In this follow-up, we take a look at the art world’s response to the ongoing war, as well as the ways galleries and artists around the world are supporting the people of Ukraine.
The arts activist Yevgenia Belorusets has released a book of short stories entitled Lucky Break, which chronicles Ukrainian tales from 2014 onwards. Previously known for her photography of exploited workers displayed at the Venice Biennale, the collection of stories is interspersed with black-and-white photographs of Ukrainian residents, while the stories themselves all follow women displaced by war, navigating their way through a traumatised community. Most of the tales are heavily inspired by fairytale imagery and offer a heightened - though no less uncompromising - view of the region under attack.
Meanwhile, Manhattan’s SVA Galleries were criticised recently for scheduling the exhibition Perevorot (Revolution) Illustrated; curated by Moscow-based artist Natasha Konyukova, the open call for the exhibition stated its aim of “protest[ing] the repression of Russian artists, journalists and citizens. However, while the show was presented as “an international exhibition showing solidarity with the people of Ukraine”, many criticised its limiting criteria for the works to be displayed, in particular the stipulation “photographs may not contain documentary images of the war in Ukraine”.
Among the critics of the exhibition was New York-based Ukrainian artist Luba Drozd, who commented that “Solidarity with people of Ukraine is giving Ukrainians voices and space”, before accusing the show of “exploiting Ukrainian pain [...] to promote Russian voices”. Ukrainian artist Valerie Malaja echoed this sentiment, adding that to actually support Ukraine, the gallery would do better to “give voice to our artists, speak about Ukrainians, show pictures from the war”. Following this backlash and a petition from Drozd describing the show as ‘performative allyship’, SVA Galleries swiftly announced their withdrawal from the show, citing the lack of emphasis given to Ukrainian voices.
Ukrainian-Russian artist Aljoscha staged an anti-war protest on 22nd February, standing naked in front of Kyiv’s Motherland Monument. The monument, standing at 62 metres tall, forms part of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, and was constructed in 1981. As part of his artistic protest, Aljoscha raised two pink sculptures made of fibreglass, plastic and acrylic above his head, reflecting the motif found throughout his work of ‘bioism’, constructing new life by extending it to non-living objects. In a statement, Aljoscha noted that “There [are] no justified conflicts, all of them are criminal, causing violence and pain to all kind[s] of biological beings. Any kind of human ideology is violent per se”.
In response to the war in Ukraine, the directors of the Artist Support Pledge, a movement which launched to help struggling artists during the pandemic, launched the Ukraine Support Pledge to raise funds for GlobalGiving. To participate and support the people of Ukraine, artists can upload their work to Instagram with the hashtags #artistsupportpledge and #ukrainesupportpledge, to be sold for a suggested donation of £200. At the movement’s launch, it raised £60k in just 7 days, 100% of which went directly to the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund. Donations can also be made directly on the Ukraine Support Pledge’s JustGiving page.
In a previous article, we investigated the effects that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had on the art scene, both in the country and around the world. In this follow-up, we take a look at the art world’s response to the ongoing war, as well as the ways galleries and artists around the world are supporting the people of Ukraine.
The arts activist Yevgenia Belorusets has released a book of short stories entitled Lucky Break, which chronicles Ukrainian tales from 2014 onwards. Previously known for her photography of exploited workers displayed at the Venice Biennale, the collection of stories is interspersed with black-and-white photographs of Ukrainian residents, while the stories themselves all follow women displaced by war, navigating their way through a traumatised community. Most of the tales are heavily inspired by fairytale imagery and offer a heightened - though no less uncompromising - view of the region under attack.
Meanwhile, Manhattan’s SVA Galleries were criticised recently for scheduling the exhibition Perevorot (Revolution) Illustrated; curated by Moscow-based artist Natasha Konyukova, the open call for the exhibition stated its aim of “protest[ing] the repression of Russian artists, journalists and citizens. However, while the show was presented as “an international exhibition showing solidarity with the people of Ukraine”, many criticised its limiting criteria for the works to be displayed, in particular the stipulation “photographs may not contain documentary images of the war in Ukraine”.
Among the critics of the exhibition was New York-based Ukrainian artist Luba Drozd, who commented that “Solidarity with people of Ukraine is giving Ukrainians voices and space”, before accusing the show of “exploiting Ukrainian pain [...] to promote Russian voices”. Ukrainian artist Valerie Malaja echoed this sentiment, adding that to actually support Ukraine, the gallery would do better to “give voice to our artists, speak about Ukrainians, show pictures from the war”. Following this backlash and a petition from Drozd describing the show as ‘performative allyship’, SVA Galleries swiftly announced their withdrawal from the show, citing the lack of emphasis given to Ukrainian voices.
Ukrainian-Russian artist Aljoscha staged an anti-war protest on 22nd February, standing naked in front of Kyiv’s Motherland Monument. The monument, standing at 62 metres tall, forms part of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, and was constructed in 1981. As part of his artistic protest, Aljoscha raised two pink sculptures made of fibreglass, plastic and acrylic above his head, reflecting the motif found throughout his work of ‘bioism’, constructing new life by extending it to non-living objects. In a statement, Aljoscha noted that “There [are] no justified conflicts, all of them are criminal, causing violence and pain to all kind[s] of biological beings. Any kind of human ideology is violent per se”.
In response to the war in Ukraine, the directors of the Artist Support Pledge, a movement which launched to help struggling artists during the pandemic, launched the Ukraine Support Pledge to raise funds for GlobalGiving. To participate and support the people of Ukraine, artists can upload their work to Instagram with the hashtags #artistsupportpledge and #ukrainesupportpledge, to be sold for a suggested donation of £200. At the movement’s launch, it raised £60k in just 7 days, 100% of which went directly to the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund. Donations can also be made directly on the Ukraine Support Pledge’s JustGiving page.
