To mark the 455th anniversary of Bakhmut, an exhibition of collages from the project “Where I Begin” was held at the shelter, organized by the NGO “Motivational Circle.”
The event served as the project’s finale, with women from the veterans’ community participating. More than 200 people viewed the participants’ works. Women, men, and families approached the exhibition, viewed the collages, asked questions, and discussed the themes raised in the works.
The project lasted several months. It included focus groups, during which participants spoke about their own experiences and emotions, as well as six creative workshops on trauma-informed collage. In total, 100 women from the veterans’ community joined the project.
During the project, participants created collages as a way to make sense of their own stories and express what is difficult to put into words. Some of the works are planned to be digitized and presented at a later date.
A separate part of the event was the “Wall of Reflection” installation. Visitors created their own “Ribbon of Life”—choosing the lead role and the title of a movie about themselves. Everyone could take their finished ribbon home with them.
According to the organizers, this was one of the project’s goals: a personal story, presented as a collage, became a catalyst for conversation and reflection on others’ own experiences.
The exhibition is mobile. It is scheduled to be shown in other communities that work with the veteran community.
The exhibition took place with the support and at the invitation of the Bakhmut City Council. The project partners were the Department of Veterans’ Affairs of the Donetsk Regional State Administration, the Mykolaivka Settlement Military Administration, and the Bakhmut City Council.
The project is being implemented as part of a collaboration between the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Ukraine and the NGO “Association of Ukrainian Ambassadors,” with support from Norway.
Based on materials from the NGO “Motivational Circle”