Finding talented children and helping them to discover their true selves was the guiding idea behind the second nationwide auction of artworks by physically challenged children and young people, which was held under the auspices of Ukraine’s Ministry of Family and Youth and the State Center of Social Services for Young People. The first auction of this kind took place last year and featured 220 artworks, including crafts made of natural materials, decorative handicrafts, and paintings. The auction raised over 8,000 hryvnias, with all proceeds going to the participants-teenagers and young adults between 14 and 28 years of age.
Although only 140 works were on display at the opening of this year’s auction, participants are welcome to send in their works throughout the year. Deputy Minister for Family, Children, and Youth Svitlana Tolstoukhova says the aim of this auction is not only to collect artworks, but also to apply evaluative criteria common to all artists in order to select compositions that are genuinely artistic. As she put it, “These children must work and be persistent in order to develop their talent, and then we will support them, organize exhibitions, and help them to study, say, at the Children’s Arts Academy. A child with special needs should not be raised simply to be a consumer of services. Such a child must first of all be a real individual and a creative person. This can be achieved by hard work.”
The auction participants are indeed noted for their desire to work and their persistence. Some of the works on display were made by young foot artists, like the painting by a girl from the Tsiurupinsk children’s home, who used not only paints and paper but also a more capricious material — sand.
Any auction, however, is primarily a commercial event. Proof that there is a real demand for the artworks on display this year is the fact that all of last year’s collection was sold out. To quote Tolstoukhova, “It should be mentioned that it is the children who set the prices for their artworks, together with their parents. But benefactors are not averse to paying higher prices.” There have been some amusing incidents. When the mother of one of the auction participants received a postal order for a large amount, at first she refused to take the money until she found out what it was for and where it had come from. Among the buyers who attended the first auction were Ukraine’s President Leonid Kuchma and his wife, who bought a still life for 400 hryvnias, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, and a group of people’s deputies. This year’s patrons are the nationwide union known as the “Civic Parliament of Ukrainian Women” and the “Association of Employable Disabled People.” All the artworks are available for purchase by the public. “I was impressed with some of the works and bought them for my dacha and home,” Tolstoukhova said. The young artists were no less impressed, admitting that when they were paid even 150 hryvnias for their works, they were overwhelmed with pride. After all, they depend on their parents for money to be able to develop their talent and to buy inks, beads, or yarn.
