Opening Reception: Tuesday November 25, 2025 from 7-9 PM

Unitarian Universalist Church of the South Hills

1240 Washington Road, Mt. Lebanon PA 15228

Works on Display and For Sale through February 2026

Hours by Appointment, email artcommittee@sunnyhill.org

Sunnyhill will be hosting an exhibition of artwork of artists affiliated with the Ukrainian Humanitarian and Cultural Institute (UCHI). The art demonstrates the fortitude of a nation under relentless attack. The power of art provides healing and rebuilds communities. The resilience of Ukrainian culture is made visible and accessible to American audiences. The collection underscores the role of art in healing psychological wounds and celebrating cultural identity. The show is titled “Ukraine Lives – Ukraine Heals.”

“Ukraine lives despite devastation; Ukraine creates, countering destruction; Ukraine celebrates in opposition to oppression.”

Tetiana Myalkovska

Tetiana Mialkovska is a renowned artist from Luts’k, Ukraine, who has rededicated her life’s work to providing assistance to those suffering in her country from the affects of war. Tetiana founded and runs the Ukrainian NGO “Piaternia,” which in 2014 joined the veteran rehabilitation project “Warm the Soul” and launched our own initiative, “Art Shot,” focused on rehabilitation through art therapy, assisting more than a thousand veterans through our off-site sessions and at the Piaternia studio in Luts’k. Veterans have rejuvenated their spirits at sanatoriums in the Carpathians and Volyn. The art therapy sessions were held for four years in collaboration with the head of the Volyn Regional Hospital for Veterans of War, Tetiana Masikova. In 2022, following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Piaternia instituted the art rehabilitation project “Warm Hands,” helping over 1,500 children to date through art therapy rehabilitation and skills development. By supporting these children, Piaternia also supports the soldiers on the front lines, as many of these children are the sons and daughters of Fallen Heroes and will live in the future Ukraine.

In June 2025, Tetiana opened the “Vydnokray” Art Residence in Zamlynnya, Ukraine as a cultural and healing initiative to provide a space for creativity, psychological rehabilitation, and the preservation of Ukrainian village traditions. The goal of the Art Residence is to provide an environment for artists, military personnel, veterans and their families, volunteers, and all those seeking recovery from war. It is not merely a building, but a living space of integration, healing, and renewal. Here, families of veterans can find support, individuals can take part in creative and cultural work, and the broader community can strengthen bonds that war has strained. At the same time, the Residence is dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of the Ukrainian village — traditions, crafts, and expressions of community life that are at risk amid the ongoing demographic crisis and rural decline. By combining rehabilitation with cultural development, the Residence becomes both a sanctuary for those wounded by war and a bridge to ensure that Ukraine’s rich cultural legacy continues.

Tetiana has been a participant in more than 30 All-Ukrainian and international exhibitions; more than 20 solo exhibitions in museums and galleries in Kyiv, L’viv, Luts’k, Truskavets, Prague, Sofia, Venice, Lutomyshl, Lublin, and Obzor.  She was a participant in the All-Ukrainian project “Golden Fund of the Nation.”  Her early period is associated with textiles – over 120 batik works, textile sculpture, and installations.  She works with acrylic painting with main cycle being “Banquet with Cherubs” (over 30 works and “Herbalism” (over 50 works).  Her next period is characterized by painted wood – twenty restored old chests; boards and levkas were combined into a voluminous cycle called “Figures” – over 100 pieces in total.  The project’s theme is sacred art executed in a folk-modern style.

Ivan Petruk 

A fourth-year student at the Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University, Department of Fine Arts.  A member of “Piaternia” since 2023 with roles of artist, assistant, lecturer, and volunteer.  Piaternia projects include “Warm Hands” art therapy; “Giving our Hearts to Children;” “ArtShot” for wounded soldiers; and the “International Children’s Day Festival.” Ivan is a participant and organizer of art exhibitions and the “Respublica Recovery:  Restoration at Bakota” project (Bakota Hub).

The Children of Warm Hands

The Warm Hands project is a rehabilitation camp for children deprived of parental care and love; facing difficult life circumstances; lost their parents as a result of russian aggression, and those with special needs.

Over 1,500 children have received care to date, and each Warm Hands session produces 300 works including paintings, ceramics, candlesticks, icons on glass, graphics, and other works of arts supporting education in and preservation of Ukrainian artistic expression.  These works are the results of a deep internal transformation process.  Their presentation and sale represent a source of hope, confidence, and self-esteem for the children; they help raise funds for following sessions; and they provide the children an understanding that they are capable, they are skilled, and they are valuable.

Tetiana Rusetska

Tetiana Rusetska is from Kyiv and works in the genre of mystical ethno-romanticism and Ukrainian pop art. She has worked with Piaternia since 2022, assisting with the children’s rehabilitation and combining her interest in the plane of national self-identification. She was born in Ukraine in the city of Dnipro in 1973; studied at the Vuchetich Art School in Dnipro, and served on the faculty of the Ukrainian National Academy of Visual Arts and Architecture from 1995-2001.

For more information:  Stephen Haluszczak, President, UCHI – 412.327.8111