The art, thoughts and words of Newbury’s Ukrainian guests
At the end of last year, @newburytoday featured the stories of two artists from Ukraine, Nadia and Natalia, now living in Newbury, having fled the war in their home country.
They were looking to engage with the local creative community and to show their work to a broader audience.
So we are pleased to see they’ve now been given that opportunity through a new show at Newbury museum that opened yesterday (Wednesday).
The installation War.Art.Hope shares the art, thoughts and words of some of Newbury’s Ukrainian guests, one year on from the start of the war.
They speak of their experiences during this time and about how they use art to sustain themselves and bring hope to others.
The work of Ukrainian artists Nadia, Natalia and Luda is showcased in a series of short films, one featuring the Brickmans, a West Berkshire family who host Max and Katya through the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
The exhibition runs at West Berkshire Museum until March 26.
In October, fine arts teacher Natalya Siukhina told n2: “At home, there was an unfinished painting that I started on February 23, the day before the attack from Russia began.
“From that day on, I couldn’t draw for almost six months. When I looked at my pictures, I couldn’t believe that I had ever painted them. My hands started to shake a lot and I couldn’t draw like before.”
Nadia Sadoviak told us: “After the end of the war in my country, I dream of returning home to my family, my friends and with all my might to help rebuild Ukraine.”
The exhibition runs at West Berkshire Museum until March 26.
