Sharp Hands Gallery summer 2023

It has been almost a year and a half since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, an escalation of Russia’s war that began and has continued since 2014. In fact, July 8th marked 500 days since the beginning of the invasion. Russian forces are responsible for almost 10,000 civilian deaths, 16,000 civilian injuries, and over 65,000 war crimes. While the much of the world was inconvenienced with COVID restrictions and lockdowns, Ukrainians were fleeing for their lives to crowded underground areas.

So much of Ukraine’s identity and history has been suppressed over the years, such as the Holodomor, a genocidal man-made famine from 1932-33 that killed between 4 and 10 million Ukrainians under Stalin’s rule. The Holodomor only became known to the world in the 1980s. In the 1930’s, tens of thousands of intelligentsia including writers, teachers, and scientists were arrested, exiled, and/or executed. In the 18th and 19th century, Ukrainians endured russification, wherein the use and study of the Ukrainian language was banned. In the 20th century, many people in Ukraine continued to grow up without their native tongue. Even today, as Russian troops occupy areas of Ukraine, they destroy Ukrainian textbooks.

It is so important to continue to support their rich culture by amplifying the voices of Ukrainian people. These artists in this show give us hope for the future—they embody the determination and resilience of all the Ukrainian people. We would encourage you to make war effort donations to the curator’s friends at @kyivangels. Glory to Ukraine / Слава Україні!

Cheryl Chudyk and Kevin Sampsell

GUEST CURATOR: ANNETE SAGAL, PRESENTING UKRAINIAN COLLAGE

The world is turning upside down for all of us and making art is keeping most of us from going insane. I am thrilled to present to you the six Ukrainian artists and the seventh being myself. We all are from Ukraine and are all are living here currently during the atrocities of the war. Our artworks presented at Sharp Hands Gallery are a representation of our feelings and emotions. Each artist opens their world to you through the art of collage. In the artworks you can see the history lessons, inner space and hope for the future. Each artist has created their own story, and we are grateful for the opportunity to share it with you. I believe the young generation of artists is the moving cultural force and the future of a better life without wars and injustices.

Daily life has changed a lot for us, especially in the last year. You don’t realize what war is, until you feel your house shaking from a   bomb explosion. So many of us weren't affected when this war began in 2014, we continued to live life. But people from Donetsk and Luhansk, like the artist Valeria Miroshnikova, had to graduate from high school under the constant bombing of her city. In 2022, the whole Ukraine felt what war is, and it changed our lives. The human connection at the first stages of the full-scale invasion was incredible. Everyone joined together and worked as one system to protect our homeland. The cultural life in Kyiv recovered in the summer of 2022. Since then we have had many exhibitions, theater and music events, and festivals. It is important to say that all events are fundraisers for various causes. You go to the party and you donate to help the army or injured people, hospitals etc. 

Now our daily life (at least for the people in my circle) is based on going to work, doing basic daily routines, working with a psychologist, donating, educating ourselves on the history of Ukraine, AIR RAID ALARM! – going to hide from the russian bombs, donating again, watching videos of how to prepare ourselves in case of the Zaporizhzhia NPP explosion, laughing at memes. It is all mixed with cries and laughs and we are in the war-life balance.

We must never forget that the war is still active, that our men and women are dying daily — dying for our freedom, protecting the entire world. We are learning how to communicate with the injured soldiers and civil victims. We are attending free First Aid courses to know how to help. We never know which residential building is going to be hit next in this russian roulette, so we must be prepared for everything. All of us have faced wicked events and have been traumatized by repulsive imagery, but to keep living, learning, and creating is the only way to survive in this mad world.

Annete Sagal