| Art, Events

Ukrainian Children’s Art Heals Through Creativity

ST.ART Gallery Exhibition and Auction Benefits UNICEF Ukraine Programme

'In memory of Basylevych family' by Olena Lviv (14 years old)

Crossing borders and experiences, art has a way of connecting people. Raising money for UNICEF, ST.ART Gallery is running an online silent auction of emerging artists’ work. Alongside the auction will be an exhibition of children’s works created as part of an art-healing initiative which supports survivors of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Mature, poignant, and direct, many of the pieces are startling in their imaginative honesty. A message for people everywhere.

'MY BELOVED' by Daria Lviv (16 years old)
‘MY BELOVED’ by Daria Lviv (16 years old)

Exhibition Notes

HOME: Faith, Hope, and Love
Ukrainian Children’s Art Exhibition at ST.ART Gallery

London, UK-January 2026 – ST.ART Gallery presents HOME: Faith, Hope, and Love, a powerful exhibition of artworks created by Ukrainian children living through war. Running 16-25 January, daily 11am-6pm, the exhibition brings together drawings and paintings produced as part of an ongoing art-healing programme supporting children affected by displacement, trauma, and loss following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

'Light in the Ruins' by Karolina Lviv (13 years old)
‘Light in the Ruins’ by Karolina Lviv (13 years old)

Alongside the children’s works, a cohort of emerging contemporary artists have donated artworks, which will be offered through an online silent auction running for the full duration of the exhibition on the ST.ART website, raising funds in support of UNICEF’s work with Ukrainian children. The auction will open during a private view on 14 January, ahead of the exhibition’s public opening on the evening of 15 January, and will remain live online until the close of the exhibition.

Curated by independent Ukrainian curator Karina Tertychna, the exhibition centres children’s voices at a time when they are too often spoken for. Tertychna is an alumna of Sotheby’s Institute of Art and has worked extensively on charity-led cultural initiatives supporting Ukraine, with a particular focus on care-led and socially engaged practice.

'Christmas' by Roman (13 years old)
‘Christmas’ by Roman (13 years old)

The artworks originate from Art Which Saves, a voluntary art-healing programme founded by art lecturer Nataliia Pavliuk and her daughter Yustyna Pavliuk of Lviv Polytechnic University.

Established in the earliest days of the full-scale invasion in 2022, the programme provides sustained creative support to traumatised, injured, orphaned, and displaced children. Working with children multiple times a week since February 2022, the initiative has supported over 4,000 children, using art as a tool for emotional processing, stability, and hope.

Despite the enormity of what these children have experienced, their works are often strikingly luminous. Homes appear as remembered or imagined places, filled with family, gardens, toys, pets, and symbols of care. Faith emerges in gestures of resilience and protection. Hope appears in skies, playgrounds, and futures not yet abandoned. Love runs throughout, expressed through family bonds, community, and the adults who help children heal. Together, the works stand as testament to the unbroken imaginative capacity of children, even in the most devastating circumstances.

'My Home is in my heart' by Anna Tokmak
‘My Home is in my heart’ by Anna Tokmak

“When everything familiar is taken away, children still draw their homes, their families, and the futures they hope for.” Says Charlie Pannell, Director of ST.ART Gallery. “For many of us, experiencing the war only through devastating imagery can create a sense of emotional numbness. By sharing the hope and imagination of just a small number of young lives at stake, we hope to reconnect people emotionally and remind them why continued support still matters.”

'Guardian Angel Protecting Ukrainian Children' by Viktoria Lviv (12 years old)
‘Guardian Angel Protecting Ukrainian Children’ by Viktoria Lviv (12 years old)
'In memory of Basylevych family' by Olena Lviv (14 years old)
‘In memory of Basylevych family’ by Olena Lviv (14 years old)

This extraordinary body of work has previously been presented internationally, with exhibitions across the UK, EU, and North America, including at the Scottish Parliament and Portsmouth Cathedral, and has received coverage from major international media including The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, NPR, and BBC South.

Running in parallel with the exhibition, the online silent auction of donated works by emerging artists creates a direct bridge between cultural solidarity and humanitarian impact, reinforcing the exhibition’s core ethos: that art can act as witness, care, and support.

HOME: Faith, Hope, and Love
Ukrainian Children’s Art Exhibition at ST.ART Gallery
ST.ART Gallery
16 – 25 Jan, daily 11am-6pm
36 Eastcastle Street London W1W 8DP
www.startgallery.co.uk

Public opening evening: 15 January 2026, 6-8pm
Online silent auction fundraiser: 14-25 January 2026
Images courtesy of ST.ART Gallery and the artists © 2026

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