'I couldn’t draw anything else': Exhibit by Ukrainian artists illustrating realities of war coming to Nuit Blanche
A Winnipeg pop-up exhibition of 50 Ukrainian contemporary illustrators is animating the gruesome realities of the Russian invasion, while raising funds to help those fleeing to Canada.
Oseredok Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre is hosting the “War in Living Colour” exhibit during Nuit Blanche Winnipeg this weekend.
The two-day, pop-up event will feature work by Pictoric, a Kyiv-based illustrators' club founded in 2014.
Member and artist Veronika Kotyk has spent her professional life illustrating children's books. But when Russia invaded in February of 2022, Kotyk couldn’t draw anything but the horrors she and her community experienced every day.
“I didn’t want to draw war but I couldn’t draw anything else when it’s happening, when people are dying daily,” Kotyk told CTV News Winnipeg in an interview. “After the first month of war, we have a bunch of artworks and we decided we need to show it.”
Kyiv-based artist Veronika Kotyk went from animating children's books to illustrating the daily realities of war. Her work is part of the "War in Living Colour" pop-up exhibit coming to Nuit Blanche Winnipeg this weekend. (Source: Scott Andersson/CTV News Winnipeg)
From that work, “War in Living Colour” was created, an animated exhibit exploring themes of resistance, evacuation, childhood during armed conflict, and the realities of daily life during war.
The exhibit travelled through other parts of Canada this summer. Stops in Ottawa and Vancouver raised over $10,000 for causes like tactical first-aid supplies and rehab programs for children affected by war.
Tour organizer Sofya Kominko said the exhibit gives Canadians a more intimate understanding of war.
“Some of these artists were actually in Ukraine in bomb shelters creating these works. Some of them had friends in Ukraine going through some of the horrific things that we could only imagine or we read about in the news,” she said.
The exhibit will be open at the Oseredok galleries at 184 Alexander Avenue East Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The event is pay-what-you-will, and all money raised will fund programming to help the growing number of refugees and displaced people from Ukraine arriving in Winnipeg.
Kotyk said she has been pleasantly surprised at how Canadians have embraced the exhibit so far. Although the work deals with difficult subject matter, she said Winnipeggers should do the same.
“People shouldn't be afraid of that sensitive content. People need to see this. It’s important,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expression
Michelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
What new auto insurance reforms will mean for Ontarians, if they get introduced
Ontario has among the highest rates for auto insurance premiums in Canada -- just below Alberta and Nova Scotia -- however, the introduction of an insurance reform in the provincial budget could soon lower prices.