Sweden-based Belarusian artist Ludmila Christeseva was in Delhi to build a global weaving movement for peace and freedom to help Ukrainian refugees deal with the trauma of war. A symbolic camouflage net woven by them will be showcased at Oslo Freedom Forum on June 15
A small group of mothers, wives, sisters and daughters of Ukrainian soldiers will stand in solidarity with diverse participants at the Oslo Freedom Forum on June 15 and showcase a camouflage net woven by them with cloth bands of peace tied to it. Titled Home Together, the net symbolises revival of their hope and optimism in a war-impacted world overrun by the refugee crisis.
Belarusian curator and artist, Ludmila Christeseva was in Delhi recently, to get cloth bands – carrying messages of peace and freedom embroidered in different languages by Ukrainian women – tied on to the net by Indian guests before it reaches Oslo, Norway, on Thursday.
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She was on an invitation from the European Union National Institutes for Culture in Delhi and the Embassy of Sweden for a festival called Future Perfect, aimed at promoting cultural expressions and voices from India, Ukraine and few other European countries. During an interactive workshop with her, more than 150 guests including Ambassadors, diplomats, heads of several leading NGOs and artists engaged in the artistic act of solidarity as they tied the friendship bands on the camouflage net.
Ludmila calls the net a ‘textile sculpture’. “I see it as a craft that unites, heals and lasts, because everybody who participates feels it is important to contribute to the message of peace and freedom,” says the 45-year-old artist, who moved to Sweden in 2001 to study art.
Belrussian artist from Sweden Ludmila Christseva guiding guests at the workshop in Embassy of Sweden in Delhi | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
When the group of Ukrainian women, who have lost their husbands and sons in the war, take this net to Oslo, the world will see the unifying power of crafts, and how it has become the language for women in difficult times for sharing their experiences as wives, sisters, and daughters in different cultural contexts; it will facilitate a better understanding of each other,” she adds.
It was in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine, when Sweden, as per government documents, received about 50,000 refugees that Ludmila brought together two dozen women refugees with an objective to utilise art and activism to empower them. The extraordinary weaving initiative was launched under the aegis of her Artten Gallery in Stockholm.
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As part of the project, old clothes were collected from Swedish homes and the Ukrainian women were taught to weave them into small bands. What started with an art workshop in February 2022 today has more women from different nationalities joining in voluntarily and together, in the last 15 months, they have also produced a dozen handmade camouflage nets and sent them to the Ukrainian Army.
“It demonstrates how vital crafts are in building friendships in a different land; they also have therapeutic value and bring in energy and a sense of community among traumatised people in a new place. Art helps them to express themselves better,” she says and adds, “When the world gets insecure we need each other for communication and support and the mere act of creating together is empowering.”
Johan Tornqvist, Defence Attache Embassy of Sweden ties the band of peace to the camouflage net in Delhi | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
It is the voice of women and children who have been forced to flee because of the war that Ludmila wishes to amplify. “It is a strong symbolic initiative that needs to be seen and talked about.”
After the June 15 meet at Oslo, Ludmila plans to upscale the project and include making of other craft items because she feels weaving and crafts is a feasible source of livelihood for women across generations and cultures. The novel textile journey is on its way to be recognised as a global textile movement as Ludmila has been nominated for the 2023 Nelson Mandela Prize for her engagement in peace and support for the families of Ukraine.
“Art is a powerful instrument for collective reconciliation between communities and it is my dream to harness this power to connect people who need to overcome any trauma linked to conflict,” says Ludmila.
