By Luba Markewycz, Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Chicago, Illinois, Sat, Nov 22, 2008
 
Holodomor – death by hunger, death by starvation.  A most frightening concept.  Yet we assigned to schoolchildren the task of interpreting their

understanding of this horrendous period in our nation’s history.

It is difficult for me to write an introduction to this exhibit, not only because is it an exhibit of children's art, but also because it was an experience and a journey, both for the children involved in the project – and for me.

This project was the result of efforts to find a unique way to commemorate Holodomor – the Famine of l932-1933. One of the best ways to honor the memory of all the lives lost and to keep it alive for generations to come is to show our children what happened, and what caused this genocide.

 

Children, students and young people speaking to each other and with their teachers about Holodomor learned about the past, so they could teach future generations and make certain that such an event would never again occur. Thus the journey began.

The journey took me to nine cities throughout Ukraine, to over twenty schools, which also included regional centers. I spoke to and met with hundreds of students, their teachers and school administrators. I asked children from grades seven through eleven to visualize and interpret their understanding of Holodomor.
 
What made the experience unique was that I, as a teacher, a Ukrainian from America, was asking teachers in Ukraine to work with their students on art work whose theme was the Ukrainian Holodomor. Teachers in schools willingly accepted the idea and promised that they would prepare lessons for their students, so that they could learn about and understand that part of history and begin the process of visualizing the event and recording their interpretation of it on paper. 
 
There were cities where juried children’s art shows where held with Holodomor as their theme. As the projects developed across Ukraine, students and teacher began to discover and delve deeper into the history of this most tragic aspect of Ukraine's history and this event of worldwide significance. For them this was an enormous learning experience.

This exhibit is the culmination of this tremendous project, a testimonial to their ancestors who died during the tragedy of Holodomor by the children of the first generation born in Ukraine since its independence seventeen years ago.
 
In these works of art you can see the deep involvement of the students as they created their art and interpreted their understanding of the atrocities of death by hunger. They poured their minds, hearts and souls into each depiction of the tragedy as they understood it.

I bow my head with deep respect to all the teachers who prepared their students to achieve this body of work. I thank all the students for their efforts, which have met with great success. I fervently hope that the lessons they learned will be remembered by future generations.

Hospody pomylui.

 

NOTE: For more information about the exhibition, the catalog and the disk please contact Luba Markewycz: [email protected].