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in focus

Painting from
the Heart
Wives, mothers, daughters of fallen defenders remember their loved ones in words and works of art.





Some had been with their husbands for many years, some just starting their life together — all cut short and destroyed in an instant.
In the ALIVE: True Love Stories initiative, the voices of bereaved women tell us about happy times filled with dreams and love, and how the war mercilessly ended it all. 
He allowed me to be that girl on the wheel... full of happiness, looking to the future... always caught by strong loving hands.
Maria Ivashenko
Now there is a chasm in my soul. A hole in my heart like the hole in the head of my beloved.
Tetiana Vernihora
While the women of Ukraine's fallen heroes have experienced terrible tragedies, they are trying not to lose their strength and faith in life. They are finding how love can be strong, deep, and enduring — even after death.
As they put their thoughts and feelings of loss on canvas, their creativity transforms their grief into something meaningful — for themselves and for all of us.

The ALIVE initiative promotes emotional recovery and health. 

Experts come to help survivors heal in a supportive environment. Drawing straight from the heart, each one tells their own unique love story. As they share their difficult experiences of grief and heartache with like-minded people, they reduce their destructive workings inside.

ALIVE uses a method of active visualization along with creative practice.

As the women paint, they honor the memory of their loved one and move beyond their loss.

 

Professional artists join in as mentors too.

The ALIVE: True Love Stories initiative organizes exhibitions in cities and towns across Ukraine. They have shown 800+ paintings so far, each paired with the artist's written story as a dedication to their fallen hero, a reminder of love's inspiration, a guide through grief into the future. 
Each creation is a whole universe. War is no longer experienced by dry statistics of numbers killed, but through many universes that loved ones share.
My picture is about that little carefree girl who lives in every steely strong woman who has lost her beloved Hero.
Svitlana Trubachova

ALIVE: Paintings

By Kornienko

Klim by Klimenko V.

Warrior doll by Olena Gergel

By Larisa

By Ivanova E. M.

By Grenchuk K,

By Elagina

By Nuser S.

By Fok

By Oleksuk N.

By Pavlova A. D.

By Tyagiy

Forever yours by Victoria Lisanova

Between the worlds by Irina Pharion

To save by Olha Dziziuk

A girl with pomegranates (grenades) by Tetiana Vernihora

A Girl on a Wheel by Maria Ivashenko

Mugs by Olena Gergel

Dreams by Katerina Borisenko

The girl Santa Muerte by Yana Yanenko

Two Irises by Vilena Melnyk

By Kornienko

Klim by Klimenko V.

Warrior doll by Olena Gergel

Each painting has its story written from the heart.

ALIVE: Stories - Support these unbreakable women with your HEART ❤️ and SHARE

You can honor the sacrifice Ukrainians are paying as they fight for freedom.

Through Brave Action you directly touch the life of those recovering from devastating loss.

DONATE NOW

Anna Mavrova

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Ukrainian Fiction for Understanding the War
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