“To be honest, we were a little afraid to go to Bucha to paint. They thought that here, even in the air, a rupture, a tragedy, and pain remained, and it was almost impossible to create with heavy dark energy. But everything happened on the contrary: the city welcomed bright youth, warmth and coziness. It was easy to work, inspired,” – share the impressions of the artists who participated in the plein air BUCHA-2022. Even the rain on the first day of work did not stop them – the artists were sheltered by the Buchan city library.
The purpose of plein air is not only artistic, but also documentary. The organizers prepared in advance archival photos of locations that were destroyed and damaged, but were restored in 2022. 12 artists spent two days writing to Butch, documenting the crimes and recovery. So plein air will go down in the history not only of the city, but also of Ukraine.
The idea to gather the creative team again belongs to the craftswoman, honorary citizen of Buchi, Tamara Negoda, and her fellow artist, teacher Oksana Slupska.
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The initiative was supported by international donors — the PAUSI Foundation and the Partnership for a Strong Ukraine (PSU) Foundation. Thanks to the won grant, the organizers were able to purchase materials for work, meet artists in Buchi, and have delicious food in a cozy local cafe.
To help professionally prepare plein air, to gather artists from different parts of Ukraine (Uzhgorod, Poltava, Ivano-
Frankivska, Fastova, Kyiv) was taken up by the head of the NGO “The World Through the Eyes of Artists” Valeria Velikaya.
“The current event is a continuation of the already implemented projects “Picturesque Bucha” and “Give a picture to BUCHA,” says Tamara Negoda. — We want to make such creative meetings regular, traditional and get together once or twice a year.”
And the current works are planned to be shown at an exhibition in April. Its idea is as follows: in one picture or photograph, destroyed locations will be shown, in another – restored architecture, a park, a city. After all, the plein air coincided with the “Let’s DIY” charity festival, at which local residents and guests presented Buchi development projects, donated, sang, and the little Buchanans drew pictures of their hometown, which they wanted to take away from them.
The work left by the artists in Bucha is sharp and deep. Looking at their works, local people cried and recognized and were not recognized dear to the heart houses, streets, squares and churches. Artists first were taken on a city tour. They had the opportunity to independently choose the object they liked the most. Most of them wrote not one, but several stories. Of course, many were impressed by Vokzalna street.
Maestro Pavlo Makedonskyi (from Izmail in Odeshchyna) says that it was at Vokzalnaya that he realized that buildings have souls. And on his canvases, next to the new houses, faintly visible contours that melt into a dream, souls of old houses.
Nataliya Zhuravlyova presented the townspeople with another talisman – a dog from Vokzalnaya. Tetyana Pugachevska, a resident of Kyiv, touchingly showed the swans on the local reservoir, writing the following: “Not all residents of Buchi returned to their homes after de-occupation, but many displaced people from other areas ended up in the city. Among them are a pair of large white swans, which this year found a new home in the middle of the lake in Buchansky Park. I wonder where the war drove them from?”
From the first days of the de-occupation of Buchi, Oksana Slupska understood that drawing is a very effective rescue for rehabilitation after the experience. And especially for children. Therefore, he conducts regular painting classes for local children in the Portal co-working space in Buchi. Her students also took part in plein air and donate their works for joint exhibitions.
The organizers plan to release an album of open-air works, presentation sets of postcards, t-shirts with the image of children’s works, and other souvenir products. Thanks to the proceeds, they will start collecting sums to create spaces for creativity in the community. Some of the work by professional artists will remain in the community for a permanent exhibition, while some will be auctioned off for sale online. The funds will be used for measures to increase the tourist attractiveness of the city.
Iryna BOVCHALYUK
for “Government Courier”
