Artworks by Children of Heroes Presented in Denmark for the First Time
Marking the anniversary of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the town of Skive in the Kingdom of Denmark opened a children’s art exhibition titled «After the World Broke» (Danish: Efter verden brød sammen).
Twelve drawings and personal stories became visual diaries of Ukrainian life today. The exhibition brings together artworks created by children who lost their parents in the war, both before and after the full-scale invasion. Bright colours gave way to darker images, fairytale scenes disappeared, and were replaced by the realities of loss, fear, and pain. These are profound changes seen through a child’s perspective.
The exhibition was prepared by the Children of Heroes Charity Fund together with the Danish organisation Hjælp Ukrainske Børn, the international platform and magazine Business Woman, Denmark’s largest Ukrainian organisation Lastivka, and its Skive branch Lastivka Skive «Malva.»
At Skive Bibliotek, the exhibition is displayed in the children’s area on the first floor and will be open to visitors until 14 March.
Together with our partners, we did not aim to create a standalone cultural event. Instead, we chose to show a part of recovery. Creativity and art therapy are among the tools of psychological support that help a child process loss and gradually rebuild inner stability.
This is the Fund’s first exhibition of this kind in Denmark, but it is not our first attempt to speak to the international community through children’s art. We have previously presented our beneficiaries’ drawings abroad, including in Tallinn, New York, Washington, Hamburg, and Strasbourg, and we see that this format works. It is honest, easy to understand, and it opens dialogue where words often sound too broad.
The exhibition was supported by Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, who emphasised that the war has fundamentally changed the world for millions of Ukrainian children. For many, it has taken away the very meaning of childhood, and for some, it has taken what is most precious, one or both parents. He noted that the drawings shown in the exhibition are living evidence of violations of children’s fundamental rights, and they matter for the international community to see and understand how the war has shaped children’s lives.
«I am glad that the exhibition in Denmark begins its journey in Jutland, in the town of Skive, where the largest number of Ukrainians in Denmark live today. In any war, children are the most vulnerable, and it is important to speak about how war affects their lives. Initiatives like this bring Ukrainians and Danes together in supporting the children who have been hit the hardest,» says Lesia Ihnatyk-Eriksen, Adviser to the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights in the Kingdom of Denmark.
«This exhibition was created so that children who have lost their parents due to the war have a space to be heard. For many of them, drawing became the only way to tell what they have lived through. It is crucial that these voices are heard not only in Ukraine, but beyond its borders,» emphasises Alla Kuchans, the exhibition organiser, representative of Business Woman in Denmark, Deputy Head of Lastivka, and representative of the Hjælp Ukrainske Børn initiative.
We also thank everyone who supported the opening and helped amplify this important topic, including Alfred Brunsgaard, Mayor of Skive, and Fr. Serhii Berezhnyi, a priest of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
If your organisation or company is ready to support bringing this exhibition to your country, please email us at [email protected].
