The office of John D’Agostino located on Fisher Street in North Bay was turned into a mini art gallery Thursday in support of Ukraine.
The exhibit entitled “Exploring the Colours of Ukraine: A Celebration of Creative Diversity, Fortitude, Hope and Inspiration for the Future,” was well attended, with three paintings selling within the first hour.
See: Upcoming art exhibit showcases 24 paintings by renowned Ukrainian artists
”The paintings were shipped to us from war torn Ukraine,” said Lori Burns of the Vest Project.
“We received this beautiful bundle of paintings; we couldn’t believe it when we opened them.”
There were 27 paintings in total, three sold before the exhibition even opened.
“The exquisite paintings by renowned Ukrainian artists, celebrate the rich tapestry of Ukrainian culture and the indomitable spirit of its people.”
Even Ukrainian President Zelenskyy owns a painting by one of the artists.
“They’re world-renowned Ukrainian artists, who have their art in galleries and private collections around the world. So, we are extremely honoured that they sent this group of paintings to us here in North Bay,” stated Burns.
“They arrived from Poland, so I am guessing someone drove them to Poland, because everything is so dangerous there right now. It is nice that they’re actually saved too, so they’re not going to be destroyed. President Zelenskyy has a painting by one of the artists Andriy Chebotaru who has about eight paintings in our exhibit, which is pretty amazing.”
The art exhibition was hosted by the Vest Project in collaboration with the Kolo Fund.
The Vest Project started right after the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“We discovered there was a need to protect civilians who were landing on the frontlines,” explained Burns.
“So, we initially focused on vests, level four and above vests, tactical helmets, tactical goggles, boots, and then it expanded. The needs changed every week basically, so we continued supplying vests, and at the same time we were supplying night vision equipment, thermal imaging equipment, and then it expanded to drones as well.”
The paintings were donated by the Kolo Fund.
“They’re a charitable organization that is devoting everything to helping the frontline defenders in any way they can,” explained Burns.
“They are one of the organizations with whom we work, so we’ve been working with the Kolo Fund for over a year now. They’re just a phenomenal group. Right now, they have a drone school where they are training drone operators.”
Money raised from the sale of these paintings will support the purchase of surveillance drones.
Cindie D’Agostino also with the Vest Project explains the importance of the drones as eyes in the sky.
“They don’t have an air force, so this essentially is their air force, and the drones are great for surveillance, and it just gives them a different vision,” explained D’Agostino.
“Obviously, the drones are constantly being knocked out of the air, so they have to be replenished. We’re lucky if they last a week. These particular ones that Kolo is building and testing are not the ones that carry bombs, these are definitely more for giving them better visibility of what’s ahead and for surveillance.”
The response to the art exhibit was very positive.
“It has been wonderful. We have had such an outstanding response to this. We’ve had a lot of calls, a lot of messages on social media, a lot of support in sharing our events, so we’re really excited,” Burns said.
“We’ve also created an exhibition book of all of the paintings. It is available for $25 then you’ll have all the paintings and all the information on the artists with a portion of that going towards fundraising as well.”
Mariia Zagrebelma originally from Kyiv, moved to North Bay a few years ago when she was a young teen.
She worries about her family still living in her homeland and appreciates all the support.
“I feel living here, I can help my family, our army back in Ukraine,” said Zagrebelma.
“It means a lot to me because sometimes it feels like no one cares. When it started, I heard a lot that it was only a Ukrainian problem and right now I feel all this support and warmth.”
Ilia Zahrebelnyi who is also relatively new to Canada helped with the exhibition.
“I can not express in words the large gratitude and thanks we have for Cindie and Lori who started to help from the first days of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine,” said Zahrebelnyi
“I would say every Ukrainian who knows can not express their huge gratitude. A huge thanks and huge appreciation for what they are doing. Our partners from Kolo charitable foundation and from other charitable funds that have helped during this war are also amazed and feel very grateful.”
Local high school student Oleksandra Zagrebelma believes it is important to support Ukraine.
“Tonight means we can fundraise more money to send to Ukraine and help our army. For me, it is important because when the war just started, there were some classmates who were saying that Russia would win the war really soon, and right now I am really happy that a lot of people support Ukraine, and it just warms my heart that I have a lot of support around me.”
Dmytro Korotkykh has been in Canada for just over four years.
“I think anything that could support Ukrainians, these days is very important. And this exhibition is also amazing because it keeps awareness of the Ukrainian people. You could find something very special about nationality through culture, through art. It is not only about communication, but it is also about the world around, so I think this is a great idea and I see lots of people, lots of Canadians come and see, and buy this art. I am excited.”
The Vest Project is committed to seeing fundraising efforts continue.
“The Vest Project doesn’t take any money, 100 per cent of what is given to us and donated goes directly into the purchase of gear. So, we don’t take any money for administration, we just personally pay for all of that. Sometimes we’ll purchase the gear directly from a shop perhaps in Poland for the thermal imaging gear, we were able to purchase it directly from the shop,” explained Burns.
“We didn’t think we’d be doing this for this long, but unfortunately there is still a need. We said we wouldn’t stop until this is over so we’re just going to keep going. North Bay is incredible. People are constantly donating and thinking of the new members of our community. It is very emotional; we get a lot of feedback about what is happening in Ukraine.”
To date, the Vest Project has raised just over $100,000. The art exhibit will add to that total.
“We’ve priced the work at half of what it would be in a gallery because we are not paying gallery fees. Galleries often take 50 per cent of the listed price. So, people are able to obtain amazing, beautiful quality pieces of work, and oil paintings for really good prices and it is also helping frontline defenders. So, it is kind of a win-win.”