An exhibition featuring Ukrainian artist Nika Kozhushko, who was killed by Russia, was launched in Iceland

An exhibition of works by Kharkiv artist and poet Nika (Veronika) Kozhushko, who died as a result of a Russian strike, was opened in Akureyri, as reported by Ukrinform.

The exhibition was launched on Saturday, Mar.1, 2025 and will run until Mar. 9. It was organized by Kyiv resident and a friend of Veronika Kozhushko, Kateryna Ilchenko. 

“The idea of organizing this exhibition came to me immediately after I watched Nika’s last video that was the beginning of a new project with journalists from the Czech Republic about artists killed by Russia. In that video, Nika tells about how many voices will never be heard again. She passed away a few days after the shooting,” Ilchenko said.

Ilchenko enhanced a video with a story about Nika and her work, and the 12-minute film is being shown at the exhibition alongside the artist’s drawings. According to Ilchenko, some of the works she received from Kozhushko’s father, and some from the artist’s friends. In addition, she added drawings that Nika had sent her personally.

“I wanted Nika’s voice to be heard even here, in the north of Iceland. It is important for Icelanders to know that the Russian war against Ukraine is directed not only against Ukraine’s independence, but also against our identity, culture, art, and everything that defines us as Ukrainians,” Ilchenko explained.

Ilchenko added that the idea to organize the exhibition was immediately supported by the artistic community of Akureyri with the Deiglan art space provided for free and no need to pay for printing the works.

Veronika Kozhushko was a Kharkiv artist, painter and poet who was an active participant in the cultural life of the city, collaborating with the literary museum and the Slovo Residence, creating illustrations for works by Ukrainian poets and drawing portraits of writers on tote bags. Kozhushko supported the Ukrainian military by organizing fundraisers on her Instagram page, took part in apartment exhibitions at the Slovo House, where she displayed her works. Kozhushko died on Aug. 30, 2024, during a missile attack on Kharkiv; she was 18.

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Image: Ukrinform

Copy editing: Ben Angel