With the support of the Arseniy Yatsenyuk “Open Ukraine” Foundation an exhibition of icons by Ukrainian artist Oleksandr Klymenko and Sofia Atalantova was held within the frameworks of the 25th Economic Forum taking place in the town of Krynica (Poland).
More than 20 icons designed on the boxes from the armaments, brought from the ATO zone are exhibited for more than a thousand of the Forum participants.
“As you understand, the war in the Donbas is probably one of the most important events in Ukrainian history. So, it is not surprising, that modern Ukrainian artists cannot omit it; it is present in various dimensions in many works of Ukrainian contemporary artists. Actually, our art project is one of the first attempts directed towards understanding this war not as a socio-political phenomenon, but rather as a historical and cultural phenomenon.
It is a kind of attempt to convey the history of Ukraine of the last thousand years in the context of the war in the Donbas, attempts to find ways of reconciliation and understanding between different areas and regions of Ukraine, as well as to present the classic icon in the unusual format.
Despite the material used for the icons, this art project can be regarded anti-militaristic in its essence. We decided to combine the most traditional thing in Ukrainian culture – the icon, which has always been a symbol of peace, humanity and love for the people of Ukraine – with the artifacts of modern war, revealing the victory of humanism and pacifism over hatred and destruction” – said Alexander Klimenko during the opening of the exhibition.
Tereziya Yatsenyuk, Head of Supervisory Council of the Open Ukraine Foundation, who is a participant of the Forum, stressed that “the most important thing in these works is the soul”.
“It is shown with dedication and understanding how tough this time is for Ukraine. We are in the line of fire, but we do not lose faith and spirituality. We know that the God with his strength and support is with us. This is a blue line of all the works presented in this exhibition. In my personal capacity and on behalf of the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation I want to thank everyone who supports us, people of Ukraine. We seek peace. We seek prosperity. We believe that everything will be fine in our country,” – said Tereziya Yatsenyuk.
During the opening of the exhibition, the Chairman of the Economic Forum Programme Council Sigmund Berdychowski delivered a speech.
It should be mentioned that the exhibition was organized by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation, Institute for Eastern European Studies and the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Poland.
