Art exhibition by displaced people in Limerick on display up to Friday, March 14

The fourth Art UA Limerick exhibition by Ukrainian displaced people in Limerick is on display at The Old Franciscan Friary, Henry Street, from March 3 to 14, 2025. Photo: Oleksandra Koriuk

The fourth Art UA Limerick, ‘A Bridge Between the Past and the Present’ exhibition is aiding self-expression for displaced people in Limerick

An exhibition by Ukrainian displaced people in Limerick is on display at The Old Franciscan Friary, Henry Street, from March 3 to 14, 2025.

Ukrainian artist Lyubov Makarenko, now residing in Limerick, founded Art UA Limerick at St. Alphonsus Liguori Redemptorist Church in July 2022.

More than just an art class, this community has become a source of support for 40 creative individuals aged 7 to 76. Participants include displaced Ukrainians from various regions, as well as a Belarusian, Georgians, and a German woman living in Limerick.

advertisement
advertisement

advertisement
advertisement

advertisement
advertisement

Art has long been known to help people cope with challenges, process emotions, and restore inner balance. Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, art has become not only a means of self-expression for many Ukrainians but also a form of art therapy.

‘A Bridge Between the Past and the Present’ is the fourth exhibition following successful exhibitions which began in August 2022, showcasing the studio’s artistic achievements each year.

This year’s exhibition carries a particularly deep emotional meaning. It is dedicated to memories of home, reflecting places that have left a profound mark on the artists’ hearts. These are not just paintings – they are stories of home, filled with emotions, hopes, and dreams.

Among the cities depicted in the artworks are: Mariupol, a city of resilience and painful memories; Odesa, a vibrant and colourful seaside gem; Dnipro, a city of strength and dynamism; Limerick, a warm refuge for many Ukrainians; Berlin, a city symbolizing the fusion of past and present.

This exhibition was made possible thanks to the support of Fr Seamus, who helped formally establish the studio, and Fr Brian, Rector of St. Alphonsus Liguori Redemptorist Church, who has continued to support the initiative.

Throughout a year of inspiring lessons, studio participants have mastered various techniques and created 46 unique works in the following genres including Thematic compositions, Landscapes, Veduta (urban landscapes), and Associative-abstract compositions.

As well as these compositions, the group have produced many other styles including, Sketching, Portraits, Collage, Digital art, and Emotionally associative works. The works were completed in a number or techniques and mediums including graphics, painting, and decorative and applied arts.

The organisers believe that “this exhibition is proof that art heals, unites, and gives hope”.

Lyubov Makarenko, who was the host of the children’s TV program “Drawing with MTV” (Mariupol TV, Ukraine), is an artist, educator, and founder of Art UA Limerick. A native of Mariupol, she lived under Russian occupation for two months before relocating to Limerick in 2022, where she now works on a voluntary basis.

Lyubov also led the Mariupol Methodological Association of Fine Arts Teachers and was the head of the Fine Arts section of the Donetsk Regional Methodological Association of Art Schools.

She has been a jury member for numerous international, national, and regional art festivals and competitions, as well as an organizer of plein air painting events, exhibitions, and contests.

Stories from the teacher and students of the art studio “Art Limerick Ua”

Lyubov Makarenko, 72 years old. On February 24, 2022, Mariupol, her hometown, was reduced to ruins under the relentless strikes of Russian forces. What had been a vibrant life just the day before turned into a fight for survival. In a basement with her young grandson, daughter, and dozens of other Mariupol residents, she hid from shelling, shivered from the cold, drank rainwater, and spent nights next to the dead. And when they were “smoked out” with gas and forced into the streets at gunpoint, she saw her destroyed home—shelled by a Russian tank. She lost everything.

She was 70 when she was forced to flee. Four thousand kilometres—without belongings, without documents, without knowing the language, without any idea of what would come next. But she survived. And she did not give up.

Today, Lyubov Makarenko lives in Limerick, Ireland. In a foreign country, she started from scratch. At first, she simply tried to hold on, to adjust to her new reality. And then—she turned to art again.

She did not just return to creativity—she became a volunteer. She founded the Artua Limerick art studio at the Redemptorist Church. Lyubov helps refugees like herself find the strength to keep going. She conducts art therapy, supporting those who have lost their homes, those who cannot put their trauma into words but can express it through painting. Her studio has become a place where art heals.

“If everything is taken from you, you must create anew. I know that art can save a person. It saved me—it will save others too,” she says.

Lyubov Makarenko no longer has her home, her city, or the life she once knew. But she has something greater—the ability to turn ruins into art. And as long as she continues to do so, she remains true to herself.

Inna Grechosi, 48 years old, from Odesa, left Ukraine on the fourth day of the war, taking only her younger son with her. Yet, even in safety, her thoughts remained tied to home.

By September 2022, the separation from her mother became unbearable, and she decided to return to visit her. During those twelve days in Ukraine, Inna barely ate and barely slept. Russia had intensified its airstrikes, using every weapon at its disposal. At night, she would wake up screaming, her body constantly tense. Her mother told her she was screaming with fear in her sleep.

Her family became increasingly worried about her mental state. With heavy hearts, they made the painful decision that she had to leave—she had to go somewhere safe. They urged her to leave Ukraine as quickly as possible. She realised that, for this war, she was too weak.

24 year-old Olena Hanrahan from Mariupol. On the second day of the war, Olena’s father was killed by a shrapnel wound to the heart after a bomb explosion. Due to constant shelling, burying the dead was impossible—bodies were taken to the morgue instead. But within a week, the city lost electricity, and the lifeless bodies remained in non-functioning refrigerators. A month later, they were still there. Later, she saw footage of the bodies being dumped directly into trenches.

She holds onto hope that after Ukraine’s victory, she will be able to find where her father was buried. In total, the war claimed the lives of four members of her family.

Oleksandra Oleinik, 10 years old, arrived in Ireland in March 2022 from Odesa. In late February, the war still felt unreal—her family refused to believe that the peace they had always taken for granted was gone. But as air raid alarms grew more frequent and fear seeped into every moment, the reality became undeniable.

Her mother, exhausted and anxious, began preparing for the worst. She moved the sofa to block the windows, hoping to protect them from shattered glass in case of an explosion. Fear gripped them both—walking through the city felt dangerous, staying home felt unsafe, and even sleep became terrifying.

The media warned of a potential attack on a nearby ammonia plant, adding to the panic. Overwhelmed, Oleksandra’s mother made a difficult decision: they had to leave. But instead of telling her daughter the harsh truth about war, she chose different words. She spoke of a dangerous fog rising over the sea, one that was unsafe for children to breathe. It was time to go. There was no mention of war—because even the word itself was too frightening.

Timofii Huch, 7 y.o. Energodar, Tymofii is a seven-year-old boy from Enerhodar, a city with the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. But now it is dangerous there—Russian troops have occupied his homeland. Living under the barrels of guns is impossible, and his family was forced to leave.

Now they are in Ireland, where people have welcomed them with warmth and understanding. Tymofii goes to a new school, makes friends, but still misses home. He believes that one day he will return to a free Enerhodar. In the meantime, he is grateful to Ireland for giving him shelter.