Displaced journalists from Zaporizhzhia meet artists at art space

Olena Saurina and Olha Khariyakova invited Zaporizhzhia media professionals to the City Vernissage art exhibition as part of the Art Support project, which took place at the exhibition hall. The meeting in the art space continued the communication between artists and journalists. A week ago, there was an art meeting of displaced journalists with female artists at the Zaporizhzhia Journalists’ Solidarity Center (JSC) of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU).

The exhibition presents 22 works in different genres, directions, and aesthetic formats. Among them are the works of young artists Kateryna Parkhomenko, Polina Iziumska, and Ilya Stavytskyi. Through their creativity, the artists shared the emotions that the war-related present evokes.

The event attracted many visitors, including displaced journalists. Olena Saurina emphasized that the main highlight of the exhibition is that most of the works were created after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which is a kind of symbol of the continuation of life. This exhibition also presents the works of students of the association Koloryt.

Artist Vadim Mitkov presented an installation of paintings on empty shell casings, which were brought for him by volunteers from the battlefields. Olha Karpenko presented a work depicting a Defender Hero – an AFU soldier with prostheses instead of legs, and a portrait of a son soldier.

Landscapes are also presented at the exhibition – landscapes of Khortytsia Island, peasant motifs, etc. The association transfers the money from the purchased works of art to the needs of the Zaporizhzhia Hospital.

Call the Zaporizhzhia JSC by dialing 096 277 5352 (Nataliya Kuzmenko and Valentyna Manzhura, co-coordinators of the Zaporizhzhia JSC). The Center’s address is 152 Sobornyi Avenue.

ABOUT JSCs

The Journalists’ Solidarity Centers is an initiative of the NUJU implemented with the support of the International and European Federations of Journalists and UNESCO. The initiative is designated to help media representatives working in Ukraine during the war. The Centers operate in Kyiv, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipro and provide journalists with organizational, technical, legal, psychological, and other types of assistance.

ABOUT UNESCO

UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. It contributes to peace and security by promoting international cooperation in education, sciences, culture, communication, and information. UNESCO promotes knowledge sharing and the free flow of ideas to accelerate mutual understanding. It is the coordinator of the UN Action Plan on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, which aims to create a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers, thus strengthening peace, democracy, and sustainable development worldwide. UNESCO is working closely with its partner organizations in Ukraine to provide support to journalists on the ground.

The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this digest do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area or its authorities or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in this digest and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit to the organization.

Svitlana Kostiuk, Photo by author