14 Frome-based and Ukrainian artists, Artists in Dialogue: War Vocabulary, are preparing for a special exhibition called CONNECTION ЄДНАННЯ, taking place at the Silk Mill from Saturday 18th March.
The exhibition will take place daily 10am to 4pm and will culminate in a family friendly afternoon of Ukrainian music, songs, and cake, on Sunday 26th March from 2.30pm to 4.30pm.
The exhibition CONNECTION ЄДНАННЯ will display over 40 pieces of artwork as limited-edition fine art giclée prints, alongside printouts of the Conceptboards and details about creating the Heliograffiti. Artists in Dialogue: War Vocabulary limited edition prints will be available to order with profits from sales going to further grow the project.
Organisers say, “When 14 Frome-based and Ukrainian artists in exile or in Ukraine began their tentative online dialogue in July 2022, little did they how much they would achieve together. Their first discovery was Conceptboards, virtual platforms where they could upload their artwork focused on agreed themes, with comments translated so that their dialogue could flow.
“Next came the idea of creating a Heliograffiti – a drawing with light inspired and supported by Ukrainian Volodymyr Bakhtov, who has made this art form his own. As the new year began the local Artists in Dialogue group worked together with the help of family and friends, and the support of Downside School to make their own Heliograffiti linking ancient Celtic and Slavic symbols – the oak and the trident.”
Ahead of the upcoming exhibition, the Frome artists presented a talk at Frome Town Hall called CONVERSATION РОЗМОВА, which was a talk about this compelling visual arts project. Each artist talked about a different aspect of the project.
“We set out to share the project beyond us as a group of fourteen artists. To demonstrate the power of our conversations using the language of art,” commented Lorna Thomas, the project’s convenor for the evening.
The audience offered a stimulating series of questions and comments that created an open, absorbing discussion to conclude the evening.
Ex-mayor Sheila Gore asked, “What do the project artists expect people to take away from the exhibition and ultimately respond to it in the own lives?”
To which the artists replied, “To witness the connection between 14 artists who create artwork using a language which is stateless and without boundaries. And to demonstrate that support can take many forms – our support of each other uses art to provide meaningful, powerful dialogue.”
Visit www.artistsindialogue.org for further information, or contact artistsindialogue.info@gmail.com
Pictured: The Heliograffiti.
