Ukrainian Festival to 'bring refugees together'

Organisers of a festival celebrating Ukrainian culture say the event will "bring refugees together" and "provide joy".

The Gloucester Ukraine Festival will feature art exhibitions and music performances from Ukrainians based all over the UK who have fled the conflict.

It will include a 60-metre-long selection of paintings and photographs called 'Lines of Resistance', which will be showcased in Ukraine as a "message of solidarity".

Event volunteer Robin Burton said: "This festival aims to introduce the people of Gloucester to the incredible richness of Ukraine culture".

The event will take place at the The Folk of Gloucester from 3 May to 18 May.

Olha Barvynka, artist and curater of the 'Scattered Light' exhibition within the Gloucester Ukraine festival, said she is "very proud" to be part of it.

The name of the exhibition "stems from the idea that we as refugees are scattered around here and there with all our different stories", explained Ms Barvynka.

It is a mixed-media exhibition spanning across multiple rooms, which features the work of 10 Ukrainian artists - two of whom are currently in Ukraine.

Ms Barvynka, who is originally from Bila Tsverkva in Kyiv, moved to the UK in April 2023 and now lives in Cheltenham.

She discovered her passion for art whilst in Ukraine, and is now in her second year of a Fine Art degree at the University of Gloucestershire.

"The exhibition has helped to reunite and bring hope and confidence to many of these artists," she said.

"Some of these artists didn't know each other and I can see how it has helped uplift them."

Artist Russell Haines, who curated 'Lines of Resistance', said the piece will "document Gloucester's grassroots response to the Russian invasion".

"All of the paintings and small artworks are for sale, to help us take Lines of Resistance to Ukraine", he said.

"Our goal is to exhibit the painting in Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Odesa, as a message of solidarity from Gloucester to the people of Ukraine before bringing it back to Gloucester to be exhibited here".

The festival will also feature performances from the Bristol Kozachky Choir and Stroud-based dance group Styx Border Morris.

It will exhibit the work of Ruslan Ganushch, a war photographer who was killed in the conflict earlier this year.

"[The festival] aims to give refugees from the conflict in Ukraine, the opportunity to get together and be proud of their own culture", Mr Burton added.

"It aims to provide everyone with as much joy as possible".

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