A world-renowned Haida artist and avid supporter of the victims of war in Ukraine, is pitching his talents to a Victoria non-profit that provides life-changing prosthetics.
Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas is the only living Indigenous artist whose work is in the permanent collection of the Modern and Contemporary Art Department at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. His works are also in the collections of the British Museum, Denver Art Museum, Peabody Essex Museum, Seattle Art Museum, Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Vancouver Art Gallery and Museum of Anthropology at UBC.
Originally scheduled to have an art show at the TSEKH Art Gallery in Kyiv, Ukraine in the fall of 2021, Nicoll Yahgulanaas is instead using his art to raise funds and awareness for the war-torn country. One of the works that would have been displayed is called Kyiv Child, created after visiting Ukraine in 2019.
“I made many friends on that trip, and now they are huddling in basements, holding their children close. They worry about food, water, and Putin's indiscriminate bombing of civilians,” Nicoll Yahgulanaas said in a statement.
Yahgulanaas has raised $75,000 so far for Ukraine aid through Unicef and MSF, and the latest campaign targets $25,000 for the Victoria Hand Project.
From a small lab at the University of Victoria, The Victoria Hand Project harnesses 3D printing technology to create life-altering prosthetics. The charity strives to empower individuals worldwide, particularly where accessing prosthetics is challenging. By offering affordable and sustainable solutions, they restore independence, hope, and dignity to those who have lost mobility due to limb loss.
CEO Michael Peirone is grateful that the B.C. artist opted to share his talents with the Saanich-based project.
Malaspina Printmakers in Vancouver is covering the costs to create the high-quality prints of Yahgulanaas’s work available for $700 online. Other donors and supporters mean the funds are 100 per cent proceeds.
Each print sale, $700, would essentially cover the costs associated with a prosthetic in Ukraine, Peirone told the Saanich News.
“Unfortunately from what we’ve heard from partners on the ground working in Ukraine there is such a need for prosthetic care and the resources aren’t available,” he said. “The waitlists are growing, with people who have been waiting six months to a year after losing an arm defending their country.
“Even if the war ended right this moment – and we wish it would – there’s still a great need for prosthetic care.”
Three Victoria Hand Project team members travelled to Ukraine in June 2023 to train locals and set up two clinics for the organization’s usual in-country solution.
“That helps with the long-term sustainability and decreases wait times. Also, we found it really fosters a sense of pride in the community,” Peirone said.
The non-profit has made several in-person trips there, creating fast and affordable prosthetic limb production. The organization has already provided more than 110 prosthetics for Ukrainians.
Prints can be found online at malaspinaprintmakers.com.
It's one campaign among several underway at the Victoria Hand Project.
A Giving Tuesday event (internationally recognized as Dec. 3) aims to raise $50,000 focused on providing prosthetic arms in Ukraine. An evening of Impact features a silent auction, compelling personal stories and food and beverages.
Learn more about the initiative, purchase tickets or donate online at victoriahandproject.com.
