“The Voice of Young People in Matters of Memory Is Invaluable”: Exhibition of Drawings Opens at the Museum of Civilian Voices as Part of the “Helmet of Memory. The Story Continues” Exhibition
On May 28, a new section of the “Helmet of Memory. The Story Continues” exhibition opened at the Museum of Civilian Voices founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation. Thirty works by winners of an open interregional competition were added to the exhibition. A total of 96 young artists from across Ukraine took part in the contest. The exhibition is a joint project of the Museum of Civilian Voices and the Kharkiv Art Museum.
The exhibition continues an initiative launched by Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych. Earlier, he donated to the Museum of Civilian Voices a helmet featuring portraits of 22 Mariupol athletes and coaches who were killed as a result of russian aggression. Now, the younger generation is carrying forward this relay of remembrance.
“For us, the intersection of memory and sport will be one of our key priorities. We are currently working extensively with young people who have grown up during wartime. The voice of young people in matters of memory is invaluable. People grow tired of war, but not of art. I hope this exhibition will encourage many of you to continue your work — not only for Ukraine, but also for an international audience,” said Natalia Yemchenko, Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Foundation.
Several competition winners attended the opening ceremony, including 11-year-old Ania Trofimova from Kharkiv and 19-year-old Zakhar Kis from Lviv. They received awards and shared their impressions.
“I am very happy. My work is displayed right in the center! With this drawing, I wanted to say that people should respect our athletes who went to war and who are defending our land,” says Ania, a student of I. Repin Children’s Art School No. 1.
“Through my work, I wanted to express the injustice shown by the judges toward our fellow countryman. I hope that in the future this truth will reach beyond the borders of our country,” added Zakhar, a student in the Department of Design at the Ukrainian National Forestry University.
As part of the exhibition opening, a public discussion titled “The Art of Memory: How Young People Speak About War” was also held. Participants included Natalia Yemchenko, Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation; Yurii Yamash, Candidate of Art History and Associate Professor in the Department of Design at the Ukrainian National Forestry University; and Ukrainian artist Oleksandra Zhumailova. The speakers emphasized that today young artists are not merely responding to events — they are shaping the visual memory of their generation. Through art, the emotional state of an entire country is being documented.
“This is a very important topic. The military poster is a subject that we have been integrating into the educational process since 2014. Whenever relevant competitions are held, I try to involve students and explain to them that this is not only about professional growth, but also about their responsibility to create a weapon that can destroy. Because a poster is a weapon,” noted Yurii Yamash.
The exhibition of drawings within the “Helmet of Memory. The Story Continues” project continues to create a space for artistic reflection on memory, the experience of war, and the reinterpretation of personal and collective stories through contemporary Ukrainian art within the Museum of Civilian Voices.
The competition was organized by the Department of Culture and Tourism of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, the Department for Youth and Sports of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, and the Kharkiv Art Museum.
The Museum of Civilian Voices founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation now contains more than 145,000 stories of civilians affected by russia’s war against Ukraine, including nearly 12,500 stories from residents of Mariupol.
