Exhibition - Fight With Art : Contemporary Comics From Ukraine

The Cartoon Art Museum proudly presents Fight with Art: Contemporary Comics from Ukraine, a collaborative effort with international organizations from FestivALT, Muzeum Komiksu based in Kraków, Poland, and six Ukrainian women cartoonists, Kateryna Kosheleva, Inga Levi, Tania Pryimych, Yulia Vus, Masha Vyshedska, and Dartsya Zironka. This celebration of the Ukrainian heart, resilience, and creative spirit marks the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and a time for reflection from the global artistic community.

"Fight With Art is an exhibition of Ukrainian Contemporary Comics Art created under exceptional circumstances. Works were sent in electronic form by artists residing in Ukraine or Poland and printed in the USA," notes exhibition curator Artur Wabik. "Most of them are directly related to the current war, and they all have a story affected by politics and conflict. Together, they form a record of a moment in time none of us in Europe ever thought we would find ourselves in again. 

"The War in Ukraine affects the entirety of Europe and European people, including artists, curators and other workers of the cultural sector. While providing shelter to refugees, sending food and supplies to the fighters, we must not forget that our first language of expression is culture and art. With this strong foundation we can fight today for truth and peace. Culture is the arbiter of civil society, it prevents us from sliding into the arms of brash propaganda and naked aggression." 

"It is our duty to give a voice to artists from Ukraine and to create a platform for the presentation of their works. Both those created at the front and those created in exile, Ukrainian contemporary art and its creators need our support more than ever," Wabik observes. "We give selflessly, remembering that once Polish artists also received shelter and support from greater Europe. Today, we honor an old debt and we will pay and pay it forward, and persevere. 

"Fight With Art is a living, experimental exhibition that still changes. As life has now unexpectedly changed because of the war in Ukraine."

In conjunction with the Cartoon Art Museum, Fight with Art is preparing a digital exhibition catalog including all of the artwork featured in this exhibition, as well as artist biographies, to be published both in Ukrainian and English. One hundred percent of the proceeds from this digital catalog will directly benefit the artists whose works are included in the exhibition. Details regarding this publication will be announced via the Fight With Art website, https://fightwithart.com/