New Ukrainian art gallery in Worthing: Girl's drawings to be sent to Jupiter and boy's paper guns share powerful message
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Councillor Jim Deen, the deputy Mayor of Worthing, officially opened the gallery during a ceremony at Colonnade House in Warwick Street on Tuesday (February 7).
Mr Deen said: “It’s a huge honour to open the event. I’m in awe of all the people here for their resilience and ability to carry on and do what comes naturally. The artwork on display here is related to the soul of Ukraine. We are enormously proud and pleased to have this in Colonnade House.”
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Hide AdYaroslava Matvieienko, a journalist who fled the war in Ukraine, helped to organise the event. She said: “2022 was a year of real tragedy for all Ukrainian people. Many of them gained so much needed safety as well as received a warm welcome in the United Kingdom.
"The benefit they brought to Adur and Worthing district is seen. New county inhabitants refunded the hospitality with a cultural and artistic impact on the local community.
“The Colonnade House art gallery and the Worthing Ukrainian Friends Network united to represent the art of Ukrainian refugees living in the area.”
From paintings and photographs to traditional art such as icons, head wreaths and motankas (rug dolls), each piece of work is a symbol of style and harmony all Ukrainians have in their DNA.
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Hide AdThe exhibition curator is Irma Latsanych, who moved to Worthing from Ukraine in 2016. In her speech, she honoured some of her fellow artists – which included children as young as ten.
Yaryna Zakaliuzhna, 10, honed her skills at a children's art studio in Ukraine, where she studied for three years before the war. She has won multiple Ukrainian and international children’s competitions, including the prestigious European Space Agency competition.
Her winning drawing will be attached to the Ariane-5 rocket, set to send a satellite to Jupiter. Now a refugee in the UK, Yaryna continues to pursue her passion at the Royal Drawing School in London.
Her artworks, which are on display in the gallery for the next two weeks, are dedicated to the faces of animals who have suffered in the war in Ukraine. From pets that survived despite dire circumstances or animals that have selflessly served and loved their human companions, Yaryna’s paintings capture the essence of their resilience, devotion and love.
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Hide AdYaryna’s mother, Tetiana said: “Today you can see a piece of Ukrainian soul. All of us have experienced trauma with what has happened in our lives. They’ve been destroyed. But we try to be strong and brave.
"The main goal in our lives is to rebuild our country. We should show all over the world that Ukrainians can do everything to get back whole. We trying to build here to show what we can do with our lives, recover and still be alive. Many of us are now single mums and we want our children to have normal lives.”
Meanwhile, Artem Romaniv, 14, produced a eye-catching piece of work for the gallery – guns made out of paper. Arterm, who enjoys design and technology, started with plane designs but, when the war started, he wanted to show that weapons should be made only of paper. Click here to read more about Artem’s life in Worthing and his inspiring fundraising efforts.
The programme will include workshops, lectures, documentaries, and the display of art – ‘everything to get the sense of being unbowed Ukrainian artistically and culturally’. These need to be booked in advance.
The majority of the artwork will be put up for sale to raise funds for charity and sent to Ukrainian foundations.
