What We Would Like You to Know: a unique exhibition shares messages from children of Ukraine

Children affected by the war in Ukraine are sharing their perspectives and lived experiences through a powerful new art exhibition, opening at The New Walsall Art Gallery on 25 June 2025.

The exhibition is the culmination of an arts-based research project designed to give children from Ukraine and the UK a platform to express “what they would like us to know” during this time of crisis. Their artwork provides a platform for their perspectives and experiences to be seen and heard. All artworks have been created and curated by the children themselves, who chose both the form and focus of their contributions—ranging from drawings and paintings to mixed media installations.

This project forms part of an ongoing collaboration between the University of Wolverhampton’s Centre for Research in Education and Social Transformation (CREST) and Nizhyn Mykola Gogol State University, with whom a formal twinning partnership was established in 2022. Since then, the two institutions have worked together on inclusive education research and co-authored academic outputs.

More details of this partnership are available in the article Inclusive education: twinning collaboration between Nizhyn Mykola Gogol State University and the University of Wolverhampton.

Two of the University’s Ukrainian partners, Dr Yevhen Plotnikov and Dr Oksana Tarasenko, will attend the event in person to celebrate the students’ work and represent Nizhyn Mykola Gogol State University.

Speaking on the importance of the project, Professor of Inclusive Education, Zeta Williams-Brown, from the University of Wolverhampton said:

"The University of Wolverhampton is proud to partner with Nizhyn Mykola Gogol State University on this meaningful project. We cannot presume to fully understand what children are thinking and experiencing during such a difficult time. This exhibition provides an arts-focused opportunity for Ukrainian children to be internationally seen and heard."

The exhibition opens at 10am and runs throughout the day (25 June) during regular gallery opening hours. Admission is free and all are welcome.

The New Art Gallery, Gallery Square, Walsall WS2 8LG

For enquiries, contact teena.patel@wlv.ac.uk