Author:
Yuliia Didenko
On February 19, the Voices of Children Charitable Foundation, together with Marta Syrko and the Kyiv History Museum, opened the exhibition “Thread: Transformation Rather Than Brokenness.” At the heart of the exhibition are 15 portraits of children and teenagers, along with their personal stories. The exhibition runs from February 20 to March 1, 2026.
We brought these stories together in one space to show what growing up during war looks like. It is about experiences children did not choose, and about how they learn to live with them and transform them into strength.
The project does not portray a broken generation. Instead, it shows how vulnerability can become a source of resilience when the world around you collapses, and how experiences of loss and pain can become a foundation for change. The photographs for the exhibition were created by photographer Marta Syrko. In 2025, Forbes included Marta in its list of 10 Women Preserving and Shaping Ukrainian Art and Culture.
The project does not portray a broken generation. Instead, it shows how vulnerability can become a source of resilience when the world around you collapses, and how experiences of loss and pain can become a foundation for change. The photographs for the exhibition were created by photographer Marta Syrko. In 2025, Forbes included Marta in its list of 10 Women Preserving and Shaping Ukrainian Art and Culture.
While working on ‘Thread,’ I kept thinking about transformation, about that moment when a person is still vulnerable, yet the experience they have lived through is already changing them. These portraits are not about trauma as an endpoint. They are about process and a new form of strength born out of loss. And about the thread that connects a child to their memory, their dream, and their future,
Following the official opening, a panel discussion titled “Transformation Rather Than Brokenness” took place. The most important voices in the conversation were the project’s participants themselves—teenagers Liza from Oleshky and Maks from Kharkiv.
Maks continued his schooling thanks to a Starlink connection provided by Ukrainian soldiers. He lost his home. Yet despite everything, he dreams of becoming a teacher and holds on to that dream. Liza survived occupation, the flooding of Oleshky after Russia destroyed the Kakhovka Dam, and a forced relocation to Kyiv. Water used to be her favorite element, her place of strength. Now she is learning to find that strength elsewhere: in memories of home and in love for those close to her.
They were joined in the discussion by Voices of Children co-founder Olena Rozvadovska, Kateryna Rashevska, lawyer at the Regional Center for Human Rights, and the Foundation psychologist Sofiia Stetsenko.
Maks continued his schooling thanks to a Starlink connection provided by Ukrainian soldiers. He lost his home. Yet despite everything, he dreams of becoming a teacher and holds on to that dream. Liza survived occupation, the flooding of Oleshky after Russia destroyed the Kakhovka Dam, and a forced relocation to Kyiv. Water used to be her favorite element, her place of strength. Now she is learning to find that strength elsewhere: in memories of home and in love for those close to her.
They were joined in the discussion by Voices of Children co-founder Olena Rozvadovska, Kateryna Rashevska, lawyer at the Regional Center for Human Rights, and the Foundation psychologist Sofiia Stetsenko.
We no longer ask when the war will end. We simply continue living. It was important for us to capture this point: how children from different parts of the country are living today. So that someone might recognize themselves and ask, ‘What can I do for children?’ Marta Syrko created powerful portraits, and we tried to convey their voices through words—voices of strength, faith, love, but also uncertainty, anxiety, and loss,
The exhibition “Thread” is open to visitors at the Kyiv History Museum (7 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street, second floor) until March 1, 2026.
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