Ukrainians raise funds for the Armed Forces through artworks

UAH 7 million for the Armed Forces of Ukraine: artist Zhanna Kadyrova raises funds for the military through her artwork.

Ukrainian artist Zhanna Kadyrova launched the Palianytsia project in the spring of 2022. Thanks to this, she has already managed to transfer 7 million hryvnias to support the Armed Forces.

This was announced on October 22 by representatives of the PinchukArtCentre Gallery.

“This is a humanitarian project. First of all, when it is announced to people, it is stated that all proceeds from the sale of these works go to help Ukraine. At first, I bought food, some materials for roofs, different things. But for more than a year now, it’s been exclusively about helping the army,” the artist says.

The project consists of art objects that imitate the shape of traditional Ukrainian bread but are made of river stones.

In early March 2022, artists Zhanna Kadyrova and Denys Ruban spent two weeks in the basement of their home, fleeing from the rocket attacks and sabotage groups of the occupiers that then flooding the outskirts of Kyiv, and then decided to evacuate to western Ukraine. Local residents of one of the Zakarpattia villages sheltered them in a picturesque house on a hillside near a river.

Kadyrova said that when they first arrived in Zakarpattia, they walked around the area a lot and noticed river stones that were shaped like bread. That’s how they came up with the idea to turn them into symbolic objects. The artists found an empty house in Berehove, which they managed to convert into an art studio.

At the end of March, they organized a “Palianytsia” exhibition in Zakarpattia, but the photos aroused interest around the world. Later, Kadyrova noted that one of the first ” palianytsia” went to Budapest, and a significant part of the artworks flew to Japan.

“I ask as much for a “palianytsia” as it weighs: a three-kilogram stone costs €3000. When the money started coming in, we bought something for the army. For example, a drone for €9500. It gave us a new faith in art,” the artist added.

Who is Zhanna Kadyrova?

Zhanna Kadyrova is a Ukrainian painter and sculptor. She is a member of the group R.E.P. (“Revolutionary Experimental Space”), which emerged during the Ukrainian Orange Revolution in Kyiv in 2004.

Her work has been presented at exhibitions in Vienna, Paris, Monaco, Budapest, São Paulo and Davos, and at art fairs in New York and Miami. She was awarded the Kazymyr Malevich Prize and the PinchukArtCentre National Prize.

From 2017 to 2020, Zhanna worked on the well-known art project Market, in which she created sculptures of food products from building materials: the series was presented at the 58th Venice Biennale.

Ukraine Front Lines

Tags: Art fundraising russia ukraine war