A child’s view of war

A child’s view of war

As Russia waged war across Ukraine, a mother and daughter visited hospitals, orphanages and residences for displaced families to offer art therapy to children. Their works are part of a new exhibit at Chicago’s Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art.

“Their sense of artistic expression is what every adult wishes they had,” said Christina Wyshnytzky, an assistant curator at the museum. Many children chose to depict images of war — tanks, soldiers, planes. But the children who had experienced the most severe trauma tended to focus on lighter images.

“It’s hard not to start crying when you work with them,” Yustyna Pavliuk, one of the women behind the program, said, “but they continue living.”