An exhibition of works of art created by prisoners has opened in Kyiv

The gallery of the main church of the UGCC exhibits more than 160 works of art made by prisoners and penitentiaries, including eight works from abroad. The organizers of the exhibition are the Penitentiary Pastorate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Caritas-Kyiv Charitable Foundation and the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine.

According to the organizers, more than a hundred volunteers worked on its preparation, including students of the Ukrainian Leadership Academy, members of the Vynogradnyk community, lawyers, artists and other volunteers.

"People worked late with great inspiration. That's why I'm very happy that this event took place,” said Natalia Shulzhenko, one of the volunteers who prepared the exhibition.

His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the UGCC visited the opening of the exhibition.

"First of all, I want to thank those great people who are not present here, who gave us their works for this exhibition. I beg you to express our gratitude to them," said the Head of the Church, assuring the prisoners in prayer:" We will especially remember them in prayer in our Patriarchal Council. We will ask the Lord God in a special way to show them the way to the temple of their soul, the way to freedom; not only to freedom as a way out of imprisonment, but to freedom, which is God Himself.”

Within the framework of the competition, the work of prisoners Is evaluated by more than 20 members of the jury, including not only artists and art critics, but also psychologists, sociologists, lawyers, penitentiaries, and pastors.

In addition, each visitor had the opportunity to leave their own feedback on each of the exhibits. The collected feedback will be given personally to each of the authors of works of art.

According to the organizers of the exhibition, the purpose of the exhibition is to promote better public communication and the process of reintegration of our fellow citizens in prisons, as well as the growth of civic activity in protecting public peace, overcoming tensions associated with prolonged isolation.

The exhibition will last until March 4, 2021. However, it will soon be available in a virtual gallery.