An art installation made by Ukrainian artist Daria Koltsova titled “The Theory of Protection” was presented at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on June 9-10, 2022. The installation was organized by the co-founders of the Ukraine House in Denmark, together with the activists of the Association of Ukrainians in Denmark.
One of the aims of the Theory of Protection project was to demonstrate the reality of millions of Ukrainians on the ground and encourage the participants of the summit to show solidarity with Ukraine by showing the patterns in which Ukrainians have learned to arrange using tape over their windows so as to shield themselves from potential injury as result of blast waves from Russian shelling.
“I proposed all my artistic support to tape windows as a simple but visible sign of solidarity with the Ukrainian people fighting every day for a democratic, free and happy country. It’s not just a Ukrainian war. It’s a war for democracy and democratic values all over the world. A war between the past and the future. Unfortunately, art itself can’t stop the war, but people can. We all can, step by step”, said the installation’s author, Daria.
Co-founder of the Ukraine House in Denmark Nataliya Popovych, who initiated and coordinated the art installation, highlighted the importance of presenting the installation during the Copenhagen Democracy Summit 2022.
“Ukrainians abroad share the same wounds Ukrainians feel at home and are now on a mission to do anything and everything possible to help Ukraine win, to provide it with protection, to the best of their abilities. As their relatives and friends are fighting on actual battlefields, the Ukrainian diaspora builds international solidarity that adds to the Ukrainian resilience via cultural diplomacy. Together we can protect Ukraine. Together we can protect democracy,” Nataliya noted.
The Copenhagen Democracy Summit is an annual conference bringing together political and business leaders, including current and former heads of government, from the world’s democracies. The goal of the summit is to be the top international forum for the analysis of the security and economic challenges faced by the democratic world.