On February 19, 2026, the exhibition “Thread: Transformation Instead of Brokenness” opened at the Museum of Kyiv History (7 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho St.). The exhibition was created by the charitable foundation “Voices of Children” together with photographer Marta Syrko. The center of the exhibition is portraits of 14 children and their stories. Some of them have lost their homes and their usual lives. Others have experienced events that changed them forever.

The exhibition does not aim to demonstrate the brokenness of a generation — quite the opposite. . Although war leaves traces that are etched into our experience, transformation does not equal weakness and does not mean destruction. What has been experienced can become the foundation for something new — much stronger than before. This is precisely the path that the exhibition “Thread” presents.

In the project “Thread,” the foundation does not attempt to conceal children’s vulnerability. We show how it becomes a source of resilience. Each photograph is a reminder that it is impossible to return to the way things were “before.” But is it even necessary? What has been experienced has already become part of these children, yet it does not define their future. Pain transforms into self-understanding, and trauma takes on a form in which healing becomes possible.

The photographs for the project “Thread” were created by Marta Syrko — a master of portrait photography whose works have been presented at international exhibitions. In 2025, Forbes included Marta in the list of 10 Women Preserving and Shaping Ukrainian Art and Culture.