On October 11, the “ArtArmor” project was announced at the Military Media Center.
The volunteer center “Ukraine For Heroes” with the help of the creative agency McCann Kyiv, and art curator and art adviser Iryna Yuferova found real used plates from body armor that have already stopped enemy bullets and saved lives on the battlefield.

 

As part of the project, the most famous Ukrainian artists Tiberiy Silvashi, Nazar Bilyk, Petro Bevza, Andrii Bludov, Yuriy Vakulenko, Oleksiy Sai, Svitlana Ratoshnyuk, Anton Logov, Leonid Kolodnytskyi created exclusive works of art based on armor plates.

 

The presentation of the project is scheduled for October 14 – the Day of Defenders of Ukraine.

 

In Ukraine, the art project “ArtArmor” was launched, which was initiated and organized by the volunteer movement “Ukraine for Heroes”. The presentation is already a month away – October 14, UNN reports.

 

“Helping is the call of the soul of our large volunteer family “Ukraine for Heroes”. The “ArtArmor” project is about helping and for the sake of our army and our Heroes! Those who save the lives of everyone in the rear, who risk themselves liberating every centimeter of their native land, those, for whom we pray and
whom we are waiting for home!” – the message says.

 

With the help of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Valery Zaluzhny personally, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and Oleksiy Reznikov personally, volunteers found real “used” armor plates from body armor that had been in battle, stopped enemy bullets and shrapnel and saved the most valuable – the lives of our Heroes.

 

“For the first time, armored plates become art objects! The most famous artists of our country make unique works from these plates, which will remind the world about the war in Ukraine. And about how we need tools in this fight of good against evil!

 

Consent to participate in “ArtArmor” was given by: Tiberiy Szilvashi, Nazar Bilyk, Petro Bevza, Bludov Andrei, Yuriy Vakulenko, Liosha Say, Svitlana Ratoshnyuk, Anton Logov, Leonid Kolodnitsky,” the message reads.

 

The project was supported by the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Ministry of Defense.

Art objects made of body armor – to Defender’s Day, volunteers of “Ukraine for Heroes” launched an art project in which they give a second life to plates made of body armor, which stopped bullets and saved the lives of soldiers.

 

Well-known Ukrainian artists have agreed to transform used armor into a work of art, and the proceeds from the sale of art objects will go to the needs of our defenders, TSN reports.

 

A white bird rushing forward, and shot armor nearby – this is how the artist Petro Bevza sees the future exhibition of his work with a plate that saved a Ukrainian soldier from an enemy bullet on the battlefield. “Every time I went to work, I didn’t want an invasion, I didn’t want to be like that bullet or shrapnel that flew to the fighter. Gradually, the idea arose to use the motif that is present there. This indestructible soul that comes to life and moves into the future to victory,” says sculptor Petro Bevza.

 

The protective plate of the body armor is signed with the name of the soldier on the reverse side. And this artifact of Russian aggression should be seen by the world – Petro Bevza is sure. The artist decided to depict the warrior as a white bird after a series of paintings written since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine. The exhibition of the author’s works is currently presented in the Kyiv Art Gallery.

 

The descriptions and titles of the paintings were written by soldiers who are currently fighting at the front. In order to keep helping them, the volunteers decided to combine art with the real consequences of Russian aggression. The idea to turn military armor plates into art objects came when volunteers were working on finding new investments to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine. “Art armor is an art that saves lives. The project is just starting, we are investing a lot of time and energy with our partners and we hope that we will be able to achieve a large-scale project for the large-scale assistance of the Armed Forces. The project itself was born in the process of cooperation with the creative agency “Maken”. This idea was super creative and we saw the highlight in it”, – convinces the co-founder of the charity fund and volunteer movement Oleksandr Kovalchuk.

 

Out of the two dozen bulletproof vests that saved their owners’ lives, thanks to the artists, they will later turn into art objects. Used plates stitched with bullets were provided to the Ministry of Defense. “The genius of the project, when real armor plates are taken from a real soldier, or the Armed Forces, or a border guard, or a national guard, who saved his life. Then this plate gets a second life, it is put into the hands of people who turn it into an art object. We, as the Ministry of Defense, incredibly support such activity, such an initiative. We thank them for what they are doing together with us, helping the security and defense sector to fulfill its main mission – to clean our land from the enemy,” says the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksiy Reznikov.

 

the project involved a dozen famous Ukrainian artists, whose works will later be sold at a charity auction in Europe. “Now we are talking about, I hope, millions of dollars that we will be able to send to help the Armed Forces,” says the head of the foundation.

 

The withdrawn funds will be used for the purchase of the most necessary equipment for the military sector of defense and security. The first presentation of the works of the art project in the capital will take place in a month, on the Day of Defenders of Ukraine. After that, the exhibition travels through European cities to visually remind the world about the war crimes of the aggressor country.

“DID” says that prayer gives strength. And when you pray on your land, which you defend, the prayer is many times stronger! He asks God for good for his relatives and four grandchildren. He prays for the Ukrainian people and for the earliest victory of Ukraine. “DID” wants to return to a peaceful life – growing wheat in his native Kirovohrad region, working with wood and metal. He believes that the doctors will help, and he will be able to do it despite the damaged collarbone. It happened on the morning of July 31 in Pisky. “DID” was sitting in a trench where three mines landed. A bulletproof vest saved the soldier’s life. A man remembers an injury, remembers battles, brothers, remembers what he prefers to forget, but he will never forget and forgive the enemy! This is the pain and loss of Ukraine. However, he knows for sure that Russia will pay for this war for a long time.

“APELSYN” doesn’t speak much – it is difficult after an injury. After going through Lysychansk and the front line, he says, he was a little unlucky in Toshkivka. There, the Russians were shooting houses from tanks. Oleg was covered with a slab. The man survived, but the damaged spinal cord does not allow him to move without a wheelchair. He was born in Kazakhstan in a military family. The family moved a lot. Oleg held his service in the missile forces. In peacetime, he worked as a driver and dreamed of an ordinary life, fishing, and hiking in the forest. Now his whole world is his wife Natalka. It is she who helps him return to an optimistic life. And thanks to her, Oleg painted the first picture in his life of a red kitten, which he called “Apelsyn”.

“YIZHAK” came out of the fog and is going to war with moskals!” – this is how he jokes about his call sign. He got it for a “prickly” character. Young Viktor was almost fired from the factory because he painted a trident on a milk truck. In adulthood, he received a warning because he beat moskals in Moscow, for disrespecting Ukrainians. In 2016, he applied for Donbas but was not accepted due to his age. Before the full-scale invasion, the man worked on a construction site in Poland. When Putin’s troops came to the Motherland, he did not think for a long time about what to do – he came back and joined the Armed Forces. Now he is a military medic. “YIZHAK” was injured on August 4 in the Zaporizhya direction. He was found unconscious. Then there were 5 days in a coma and hospitals all over the country. Viktor’s daughter is also a military medic. The son is undergoing final approvals before joining the army, and the nine-year-old grandson is collecting money to support the Armed Forces.

 

“YIZHAK” is sure – in this war, Ukraine is fighting both for itself and for the entire world. Is fighting and will win!

He comes from the village of Velyka Kostromka, where the legendary “Father Makhno” squad once stood. “NEMETS” tells that his great-grandfather was exiled to Siberia by the Soviet authorities only because he was German. Serhiy loves Ukrainian history, he says that all the strength of our unconquered nation can be traced in it. For some time, the man worked at the Zaporizhstal plant, and in 2020 he signed a contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He says that he always knew that Russia would not stop at Crimea and Donbas. “NEMETS” was wounded in the Izyum direction, when the enemy covered them with artillery fire. The fighter is sure that high-quality body armor and helmets are both protective and maneuverable.

He is a private in the repair and restoration regiment. On Easter, “ZHURAVEL” came under fire in Izyum, but he healed his wounds on the front line, saying, that there was no time to go to the hospital. The last wound was received at the beginning of September in Bakhmut. It undermined his health, but not his fighting spirit. Vitaly jokes and believes in victory, and dreams of returning to his favorite job as a grocery store administrator. And he also wants to buy tickets and take off with his family for a vacation in the dream Egypt.

He is from Volyn. He studied photography and loved shooting weddings. He knows electricity and worked as a driver on a farm. He plants raspberries, but he likes strawberry jam. Oleksandr is a good householder: before the war, he dreamed of planting the “Marivela” variety and making drip irrigation of the garden. Now he says that he will only manage the process. In May, he was seriously wounded near Popasnaya. In four months, he underwent six operations and was treated in eight medical institutions.
The fighter thanks God that he remained alive, and thanks the high-quality means of military protection that saved him.

He is a builder and a battle-hardened warrior. He values life above all else but is ready to give it up for Ukraine. “PHILOSOPH” does not like social networks, but likes strong coffee. He brews it even in the hottest front-line moments, saying: how can you fight without drinking coffee first? A Russcist “petal” tore off his heel, but the fighter says: he will return to the front because his experience and knowledge are invaluable.