HUG WITH A HEART: A JOINT CHARITY INITIATIVE WITH SVYATOSLAV VAKARCHUK AND ARTUR MYKHNO.

On February 24, 2025, on the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion, art and business came together in a joint project called “Embrace with Heart”, which I initiated together with Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, Okean Elzy and Artur Mikhno.

The project includes a charitable initiative aimed at supporting the Leleka-Ukraine Charitable Foundation, which plays an important role in providing medical care and saving lives at the front, and this one aims to draw attention to the place of memory on the Romanivskyi Bridge in Irpin, which is part of the social project Kyivshchyna. Places of Memory”.

The song “Embrace” by Okean Elzy performed by Svyatoslav Vakarchuk was not chosen by chance. Its meaning resonates with the image of the memorial installation “Way of Life”, which symbolizes a deep and sustainable process of healing and rebirth.

Mykola, as the author of the Road of Life lighting concept, together with the Expolight team, we use special lighting techniques to draw attention not only to the tragedy of the Ukrainian people but also to emphasize the life-affirming philosophy of the project. Now its destroyed parts are being “sewn back together” with illuminated slings like threads, just as a hug can heal the pain of loss.

The idea of the Embrace with Your Heart campaign continues this metaphor: even if we cannot hug physically, we can support each other with kindness, attention, charitable contributions, warmth, and everything that is so necessary for everyone who is fighting for life and freedom.

The support of each other is what keeps us going, gives us the strength to move on and act.
Hugs can be different: when we squeeze our loved ones in our arms after a long separation, when we cover someone who is cold with a blanket, when we donate to help those who are fighting for their lives, when we ignite faith in the future with a confident word. “Embrace with your heart” is a call to everyone: to be there for those who need it, to support and give warmth.

Because even in dark times, light is born in our hearts.
And light always conquers darkness.