Our faithful readers know, FAM’s May Artist Spotlight Series has been devoted to Ukrainian artists. As May comes to a close and we approach Pride Month later in the week, we’ve chosen Daniel Spriknik to be this week’s featured artist. Daniel has made the news recently, because he is an LGBTQ artist who is unable to leave Kyiv due to military obligations. Like many other LGBTQ individuals in Ukraine, Daniel yearns to flee as the Russian invasion threatens to impose it’s anti-gay laws, undo decades of progress, and endanger lives. The Russian government has been clear on its stance against the LGBTQ community with its propaganda, bans, and recent attacks. A Russian occupation of Ukraine would be a devastating blow to human rights. Daniel has chosen to help his country in any way possible, and has been spending his free time–outside of helping the military–painting for peace. He focuses mainly on painting sunflowers. Originally inspired by his childhood, surrounded by nature, he now paints the national flower of Ukraine to be a beacon of light. While I wasn’t able to find any non copyrighted art or photos of the artist to share, his story is too important to overlook. I’ve included images of sunflower art from other Ukrainian artists to use as inspiration for your own projects. Please let Daniel’s story also inspire you to get to know someone who is different from you or has a different set of life experiences. How could anyone think of Daniel and imagine anything other than light and humanity?
Maria Prymachenko
Olha Pilyuhina
