Art, action and community come together in the work of Ukrainian-born visual artist.
19-year-old Yeseniia Serdiuk is not only raising awareness about war through art but also turning that awareness into action. Through her family fundraising project “Joy for Every Child,” held at the Maurice Rawling Community Centre in November, she brought people and families together to support children affected by war in Ukraine.
The project raised funds to provide Christmas presents for 300 children living in orphanages, and in collaboration with Anna Kurkurina, it expanded to reach five orphanages across the Mykolaiv region, meaning 800 children received gifts.
Yeseniia is a refugee artist now based in Hull. She began her artistic practice in 2023, using art as a way to process displacement, trauma and memory. It quickly evolved into a powerful visual language rooted in lived experience. As a war artist, she does not simply speak about the war, she turns memory into imagery that insists on being seen.
This commitment to remembrance and resilience is at the core of her upcoming solo exhibition – “The Weight of Remembering” at HuFree Gallery (Western Gallery, 262-264 Boulevard, Hull, HU3 3ED) from 19th January 19th to 19th March, with an official opening on 22nd January.
The exhibition explores themes of war and memory, examining how trauma is carried within and how art can preserve stories that risk being forgotten. Drawing from personal stories and collective experience, her work links art and activism, refusing to separate creative expression from real-world impact.