Apparently, there is no family with children who would not have to seek medical help. One needs only a specialist’s consultation, the other – treatment in a medical institution. Unfortunately, there are children who are in hospital wards not for weeks, but for months. Painful injections, unpleasant procedures, the same routine depress young patients. And this does not alleviate their condition, does not speed up recovery.
Ivanna Buchkovska, a Lviv artist and academic at the Department of Design and Architecture Fundamentals, Lviv Polytechnic National University, together with other Lvivites decided to bring a little joy, bright colours and fairy tales to the lives of children in hospital. They painted 60 paintings on children’s themes, which this week will decorate the walls of the departments of the Western Ukrainian Specialized Children’s Medical Center, which is called the Chornobylska Hospital.
The artist Ivanna Buchkovska told Zaxid.net, the Art Therapy project appeared in 2016.
– At that time, the Director of the children’s hospital OKHMATDYT was Mariana Voznytsia. She wanted to decorate a little bit the white walls of the hospital. I responded to her proposal and launched the Art Therapy project. My students at Lviv Polytechnic, where I teach painting, and I drew pictures on children’s themes. These are large works, 60 × 60 or 60 × 80. They are made on the canvas with acrylic paints. We handed over about 700 paintings to OKHMATDYT, says Ivanna Buchkovska.
Once the artist’s daughter and her son got to the children’s hospital OKHMATDYT. She called from the waiting room and said that the children admire the pictures. They do not sit in anxious anticipation of the doctor, but look at pictures with fairy-tale characters, comment on them and fantasize. This inspired the artist to give the Art Therapy project a second breath.
– I wrote about it on social networks, and 25 people who wanted to learn to draw volunteered. Canvas, paints and brushes – all is bought at our own expense. Everything turned out very well. The people who last held a brush in their hands at school created very good works for children. Knowing that their paintings would later decorate the walls of the children’s hospital, they put their hearts and souls into them. This week we will give 60 paintings to the hospital, says Ivanna Buchkovska.
The Western Ukrainian Specialized Children’s Medical Center has already got about 160 paintings painted by Lviv Polytechnic students under the guidance of the artist. Now it will receive another 60 paintings painted by Lvivites for children.
– The Center is looking forward to getting these paintings. Both doctors and senior nurses have already asked when they will arrive. These paintings have a part of the soul of the person who painted them, says the Deputy Director of the Center Olena Kozlova.