Artists Against War: Sudan and Ukraine

Stella Gitano, a Sudanese writer in exile, and Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin, a writer living in Austria, stress that the armed conflict in their homeland is not a Sudanese people war. “This is not a war of the Sudanese people. These are generals fighting for wealth and power!” says Sakin, one of Sudanese’s leading contemporary writers. He is most afraid of foreign intervention from Russia, the United States, European, Arab states or neighbouring countries, interfering in the conflict, complicating and prolonging it.

Jenya Polosina and Anna Ivanenko are Ukrainian artists who fight against the Russian invasion using their talent and skills. Together with other artists, they worked in shelters in Kyiv, and some of their works can now be seen at The New Hampshire Institute of Politics in the USA. The exhibition is titled “Our Fire is Stronger than Your bombs.” The artists’ works can also be found online to draw the world’s attention to the war between Russia and Ukraine.

When Russian bombs fell on Kharkiv, the artist Mykola Kolomets sheltered the city’s inhabitants in his underground studio. Thanks to painting workshops, which lasted for 40 days, he also helped children living at the metro station work through the trauma of war. Paintings and murals prepared by children still adorn the metro station near the Kharkiv Historical Museum, and the Kołomiec studio transformed into a shelter.