Zelenskyy praises art's unique ability to convey emotions in address to Venice Biennale

Among the collateral events at the Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition is This is Ukraine: Defending Freedom.

Both engaged and artistic, it’s a project of monumental proportions, showing in one of Venice’s largest buildings: the Scuola Grande della Misericordia.

The exhibition mixes Ukrainian art past and present with works by some of the world’s greatest contemporary artists. The Viktor Pinchuk Foundation has backed it and at the opening Pinchuk brought a message of support from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy described the exhibition as a way for people to feel what it means for Ukraine to defend freedom, saying art can convey emotions in a way no other media can.

“It is unlikely there has ever been one year on planet Earth when one nation hasn’t been fighting for their freedom,” he said in a video address. “But there have been many years when most people took no notice of those fighting. This is what gives tyrants hope.

“Art can tell the world things that cannot be shared otherwise. It is art that conveys feelings. If you are free yourself, how can you understand other people who fight for their freedom? If you live in a country at peace, how will you empathise with those who can only dream of peace, and help them? How can you thank those who fought on their soil – for your freedom? Every single one of these questions is about art.”

Among the works on display, Mothers (2019), presents 300 portraits of mothers who’ve lost a child on the Donetsk and Luhansk fronts.

The show was assembled in double-quick time in response to February’s invasion of Ukraine, thanks to the work of Kyiv’s PinchukArtCentre.

"In a very short time, we pulled this exhibition in four weeks”, said Björn Geldhof, Artistic