Kunstistuudio Aza Nizi Maza (Ukraina) näitus KADUNUD MUINASJUTUD

At the Museum of New Art, 13 August–4 October 2026 Opening on 13 August at 16:00 The exhibition features 14 monumental original works, measuring 2.5 × 1.8 metres, created by around 40 children and young people aged 5–17 from the Aza Nizi Maza art studio in Kharkiv, Ukraine. The studio currently operates in a Second World War-era bomb shelter in Kharkiv. There, underground, children continue to study, meet and create even now, while the city is under daily attack from drones, missiles and guided aerial bombs. ‘Lost Fairy Tales’ grew from the idea of creating a ‘missing museum’ – a world made up of forgotten legends, untold stories and new mythologies inspired by the Baroque collections of European museums. The monumental scale of the works allows viewers to literally enter these visual worlds and become part of their unfolding stories. First, the young artists depicted elements found in ancient frescoes, botanical atlases, medieval maps and manuscripts. Rosehips and seashells, crystals and bones, bats and frogs, lions, deer, amulets and musical instruments became part of a worldview in which previously unknown plots began to unfold. The next step was to find forms for the future characters. Participants drew the faces of beggars and princesses, saints and robbers, wise people and witches, children and those who had already seen everything. They tried faces on the figures, searching for a character that would lend this fairy tale a sense of truth. Once the characters had been defined, the plots were assembled like a large construction set, strengthened with the characters’ individual details, which at the same time increased the emotional power of each work. A story is born when the viewer encounters the painting. It is the viewer who decides: is this the end or the beginning of future adventures? Has the character already changed under the influence of circumstances, or is this the beginning of an astonishing transformation? The exhibition was created in collaboration between Ukrainian and Estonian partners and symbolises the ongoing cultural dialogue between our countries. Exhibition curators: Mykola Kolomiiets (founder and director of the Aza Nizi Maza art studio) and Iryna Hrytska The exhibition will remain open at the Museum of New Art until 4 October 2026. Exhibition organisers: NGO Ukraine Centre and the Museum of New Art With thanks to: City of Pärnu, Integration Foundation, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, RIZA.