On August 21, at 1 pm, a mobile exhibition “Together We are Europe” has kicked off near the Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian People in Kyiv. The opening ceremony was attended by the officials of the EU Delegation in Ukraine, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, and ambassadors of the EU Member States. Nine Ukrainian female illustrators presented a series of drawings reflecting their view of many manifestations of the war, and also assistance and empathy, the actions of the European Union being the embodiment of them for many Ukrainians.
This exhibition essentially testifies to the breadth of the assistance provided by our European neighbors, who promptly shifted the decision making mechanism regarding financial, humanitarian and military aid to work in the time of war. Even the EU projects operating in Ukraine have directed their financing to the wartime needs. At the same time, the important area of culture was not overlooked, particularly art that communicates emotions and events in real-time mode. Therefore, it is no surprise that this exhibition marks the launch of the “Together We are Europe” communication campaign.
The theme choice is not accidental, although a difficult one: war through assistance, assistance through war – all through the lens of women’s vision. Alyona Shylova’s vision: “Hands, a touch – they communicate assistance the best. My works are about support and solidarity.”
The attitude of Ukrainian women towards the war, the one that is common for them, the one that formed through the centuries, when men joined the army and the women stayed to keep their families safe, was also revealed in the works of modern artists, who together with their families also found themselves in the hellish whirlwind of the armed conflict.
As it turned out, nobody was prepared for such a tragic development of events, but it is also then, when you are faced with a choice between the simple (just observe) and the right (to stand side by side), that the true partnership and solidarity shows.