Local artists rally to raise money to provide support

By Patricia Platt

A remarkable, comprehensive show of art from the northwest Connecticut area can be found this month at the Norfolk Hub. The event, Art to Assist Ukraine, is a fundraising benefit put together by community members and 35 artists to support Assist-Ukraine, a nonprofit NGO started by Norfolk’s Anne Garrels and three partners that brings medical, military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

After talking it over with Michael Selleck and Paul Madore, Norfolk artist Tom Hlas organized the event in only three weeks. “All of the artists donated without question, because, like so many people, they want to find a way to help,” he said. “I went out with the biggest net that I knew to find artists in the northwest quadrant of the state and got overwhelmingly positive responses. Other artists came up to me and offered to join us, so there are even a few artists I hadn’t met before. They all donated their work, and since the Hub doesn’t take a fee, all of the funds we raise will go directly to Assist-Ukraine.”

The show opened on May 5 and runs through June 30. Garrels said, “The opening was an amazing night, we did a huge amount of sales, and we are replacing many sold items, so go!” Owing to the enthusiastic turnout, which raised over $15,000 in May, Phase 2 of the art show is running through June, with five new artists and many new works donated to replace sold ones. The community is invited to the closing reception on Thursday, June 30, from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Participating artists include Katie S. Atkinson, Tom Burr, Jennifer Clark, Peter Coffeen, Richard Allen Cohen, Edward Colt, Erika Crofut, Susan Crofut, Gil Eisner, Madeline Falk, Merrill French, Ann Getsinger, Jean Grasmere, Pamela Harnois, Nancy Herzig, Tom Hlas, Anita Holmes, Wayne Jenkins, Harvey Kimmelman, Debra Lill, Karen Linden, Janet Marks, Michaela Allen Murphy, Ruthann Olsson, Jon Riedeman, Susan Rood, Turi Rostad, Michael Selleck, Sean Sweeney, Bridget Starr Taylor, Hilary VanWright and Leslie Watkins, along with works by Bruce Frisch and Vint Lawrence.

Anne Garrels started Assist-Ukraine with three partners shortly after Putin invaded Ukraine. “I couldn’t not do it,” she said. “I felt I had to do something in the midst of the madness.”

Garrels and her partners are well positioned to coordinate Assist-Ukraine. An award-winning ABC and NPR correspondent in Russia, Eastern Europe and Iraq, and author of the book “Putin Country: A Journey Into the Real Russia,” Garrels maintains contacts throughout the area. Heinz Coordes, of Aspen, Colo., was a decorated Vietnam fighter pilot who later served with NATO peacekeeping forces and has contacts in Ukraine’s military. Art Davidson is a businessman and author from Alaska who organized relief for orphans of the Iraq war. Irka Tkaczuk is a Ukrainian-American advocate who has been indispensable in dealing with officials in Poland and Ukraine. The group has already raised over $600,000, and in order to make sure all the donations are used for supplies, they personally cover all transportation and overhead costs. 

Garrels has consulted with leading doctors and hospital directors to get information about the specific medical supplies that are needed, which include high-quality tourniquets, Israeli bandages and medical trauma kits. She said, “We have hand carried hundreds of thousands of dollars of medical equipment to Poland on direct flights from the states. We personally go through customs so that supplies don’t get backed up and because Poland hasn’t charged any customs on the items when our translator explained what they are for.”

Once the supplies arrive in Poland, couriers drive them into Ukraine along a popular supply route between Warsaw and Lviv. Unfortunately, Putin started to launch missile attacks on the highway, and two of their trucks were bombed in mid-May.

Heinz consulted with Ukrainian battalion commanders about specific needs, and as a result Assist-Ukraine has sent in about 30 surveillance drones for their defense forces. Additionally, they are delivering the medical kits to the frontline defenders and making a major effort to supply them with high-quality helmets. Heinz explained, “When you join the Ukraine Territorial Defense Force you get a rifle. There is no helmet, no protective gear. They need this stuff now, and the longer these people go without protection the more people are going to die.” 

With Davidson’s experienced guidance, Assist-Ukraine helped to build a children’s home for displaced orphans in Western Ukraine after a bombing left 51 children homeless. He worked with several groups to transform an abandoned summer camp into a new orphanage to house these orphans and 100 more children orphaned by the war.

Garrels thinks that the need for aid will continue into the foreseeable future. She explained, “Putin has no way out. The military has not done well, he has galvanized people against Russia, he still has to justify the military losses to Russians, and he won’t negotiate. He will do what he did in Chechnya and destroy everything in his wake. And, since he is running out of sophisticated weaponry, the bombing will be less accurate.”

Garrels added, “Assist-Ukraine is an ongoing project that will continue to support the Ukrainian efforts during the invasion and work to make a difference in saving people’s lives. It relies on the humanitarian support of communities such as Norfolk and its artists, and we appreciate the hard work that went into this exhibit.”

For more information on Assist-Ukraine, go to their website, assist-ukraine.org.