Lviv – The Day has previously written about the “Eyesight, caught with hands” exhibit that was recently presented in the Lviv Palace of Arts. The exposition included pictures by 40 blind artists from 10 regions of Ukraine. “How do I feel the beauty of the world?” was the topic of the exhibit. The youngest artist was 3-years-old and the oldest one was 45. Khrystyna Berehovska, the founder of “Bereh Batkivshchyny” (“Our Motherland’s Coast”) Lviv art youth foundation, is the author of this project.
The works, which were presented at the exhibit, were put up for an auction titled “Give a Fairy Tale to a Child,” in order to buy fairy tales for blind kids in Kirovohrad oblast. That region of Ukraine has the highest amount of blind people. “We have ordered four books of fairy tales in Braille,” Khrystyna says. “As we promised, we plan to send them to the boarding schools for the blind in Kirovohrad oblast. Unfortunately, now we cannot buy more, as the books are quite expensive — 800 hryvnias each.” The organizers plan to spend the rest of money on winter clothing for blind orphaned twins from Peremyshl, who lack clothing to attend kindergarten. Their grandmother, who looks after them, simply cannot afford any.
The exhibit will go on a world tour after the New Year. On January 21 it will be presented in the Ukrainian Center in Madrid, Spain. Yuri Chopyk, the president of the Association of Ukrainians in Madrid, and Ivan Lypka, a Greek Catholic priest, invited the exhibition there.
On January 30 the exhibit will move to Athens, where it will be presented in a clinic on the invitation of an ophthalmologist of Ukrainian origin. By the way, according to Berehovska, the Ukrainian churches in Greece advertised this exhibit so that congregations would do their part. They plan to buy books about Ukraine for the money they receive from selling the pictures. “It will be the essence of the Ukrainian diaspora — blind children will be able to read books about Ukraine in Braille,” Khrystyna says. She adds that at least one book will be sent to each boarding school for blind children in Ukraine.
Then the exhibit will go to the Vatican on Easter eve. Ukrainian ladies, who live in Lebanon, are also interested in the exhibit. There is an agreement about a trip to Beirut in June.
