Seventy-four artists have come together to raise funds for Ukrainian refugees by donating the proceeds from the sale of their works to a fund specifically set up for Ukrainian refugees.

The exhibition, organised by artist and photographer Stephanie Mizzi, is titled ‘Artists for Ukraine’ and will be launched at the Cavalieri Art Hotel on 30 April. They have already raised €12,000.

In his foreword to the book that is being published to mark the exhibition, professor, artist and renowned Maltese architect Richard England wrote “art here is not only celebrated, but elevated to the level of a force to alleviate the sufferings of war” – a concept which is at the heart of the exhibition and artist collective

Artworks include paintings, photographs, sketches, ceramics, mosaics and other art formats by a large array of local artists, including Kurt Arrigo, Kenneth Zammit Tabona, Johanna Barthet, James Vella Clark, Isabel Warrington, Henry Borg Barthet, Debbie Caruana Dingli, Darrin Zammit Lupi and Alex Dalli.

Mizzi spoke of the “overwhelming” response by artists.

“Just imagine that you are Ukrainian and until a few weeks ago you lived a relatively quiet, comfortable life. Your country is suddenly invaded by your neighbour, and you are forced to flee your home, your country. You leave everything behind. Your loved one has to stay on to fight in this war, unbeknown to you as to whether you will ever see them alive again. The only one thing you have left to save is your life and that of your children,” she said.

The exhibition will be running for a week. It will be open to public, which is invited to purchase the works. The artworks can also be viewed on the exhibition’s Facebook page.

All funds will be donated to CSR Malta Association which is collecting funds for Ukrainian refugees.