As the war in Ukraine drags on, thousands of students continue to go to school each day amid shelling and air raids. The students at Kyiv elementary school #165 are forced to attend classes under tattered roofs while frequently sheltering in underground bunkers.
LA-based engineering and design nonprofit Miyamoto Relief is determined to help. Drawing on their years of experience rebuilding for resilience in earthquake disaster zones like Haiti and Kathmandu, Miyamoto is working to reconstruct and fortify school #165.
To raise money for the cause, the organization is hosting fundraising events in Kyiv and Los Angeles that incorporate crowdsourced artwork. Called Night of 1000 Drawings, the events offer participants the opportunity to take home original artwork in exchange for donations that go directly to the reconstruction efforts.
Participants at one of the community drawing nights leading up to the Night of 1000 Drawings. Photo Credit: Mimi Miyamoto.
Miyamoto Relief Executive Director Sabine Kast says the art on display is made by all sorts of people. “Over the past months, we've collected more than 1000 drawings from the community: from schoolchildren in LA, Ukranian children also drew and mailed in their images, from people like you and me, from renowned Los Angeles artists.”
The event in LA will also feature food by Ukrainian native chef Антон Сороковой, a silent art auction, and music from Ukrainian artists such as DJ Valery Maximenko, Arina Liubiteleva, Runa, and Nina Anto.
Miyamoto is working to repair school #165 both as a place of learning and as a safe haven during Russian attacks.
According to Kast, “Schools become a target in war. … On a very regular basis, like almost weekly, there are missile strikes and bombs flying, and the kids find safe shelter in the school’s bomb shelter.”
As long as the Russian strikes continue, Kast acknowledges that Miyamoto’s repair efforts may only be temporary. However, she argues that the work shouldn’t wait for the shelling to stop.
“Emergency repair work just improves the conditions of the schools at least for the time being, [so] that the conditions at the school are bearable,” Kast says.
One of the event organizers, Shaina Gilstrap (second from left), leads community artists in a drawing workshop in downtown LA. Their works will be on display at the main event on Oct. 21, 2023. Photo credit: Mimi Miyamoto.
While the Night of 1000 Drawings is just one small piece of a much larger relief effort, Kast believes it offers Angelenos a way to get involved while connecting creatively with their community.
“To quote [poet] Amanda Gorman, ‘May we not grieve but give. May we not ache but act.’ I think that the Night of 1000 Drawings … is a really incredible opportunity to have fun, to come together as a community, to gain an incredible piece of art and thereby contribute … [to] generating resources and awareness around these causes.”