Beyond Conflict premieres CHILD OF WAR by ARABELLA DORMAN

May 2024

In response to wars in Ukraine, the Middle East and elsewhere in the world, Beyond Conflict, the mental health charity for victims of war, is proud to present Child of War, a landmark exhibition by the award-winning war artist Arabella Dorman, on May 22 2024 at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in London.

Our Exhibition will premiere with a VIP Launch, with Martin Bell OBE, the UNICEF Ambassador and veteran war correspondent as our keynote speaker, together with Christina Lamb OBE, Sunday Times Chief Foreign Correspondent. Dorman will speak about her life’s work. The Exhibition will then open to the public for free and runs until June 6, 2024 before travelling onwards.

This event is for all children in all wars, exploring the devastating impact on children’s lives and their mental health, from a child’s perspective. Child of War showcases Dorman’s new paintings inspired by her recent trip to Ukraine with Beyond Conflict and events across the Middle East, as well as a powerful installation of artefacts from a bombed school in Kyiv and large-scale collages depicting hundreds of images and words from children around the world. Dorman, pictured below in her studio, said:

“As silent victims, it is children who stand on the frontline of the world’s most devastating conflicts, bearing the brunt of unspeakable violence, trauma and loss.”

Martin Bell, the legendary war reporter, said:

“From experience I know that the principal victims of modern warfare are civilians, and among these the children are the most vulnerable.”

Here is Martin reporting in Vietnam in 1967.

Edna Fernandes, Beyond Conflict Co-Founder and Director who joined Dorman on a visit to Ukraine last year, said:

“This landmark Exhibition bears witness to the silenced voices of the innocents. War destroys countries but, importantly, by destroying children it destroys the world’s future. The damage to a child’s mental health reverberates long after the bombs have fallen silent and it is a violence that will echo for generations to come, unless we as a world confront it. This is why we want Child of War to start a national conversation on the impact of war on children, their mental health and their futures. We need change now.”

BC Chairman, Ed Newell, said:

“ For those of us who’ve never experienced warfare first-hand, it’s impossible to understand the impact it has on children’s mental health. That’s why Arabella Dorman’s Child of War exhibition is so important: it gives us a sense of what being in a warzone is like from a child’s perspective. The exhibition is disturbing and challenging, but it’s also hopeful. There are things we can do to help those traumatised by war, and I hope that all who experience Child of War will want to support the work of Beyond Conflict.” 

This Exhibition is the result of nearly two decades of Dorman’s work in war zones, as well as the fruit of her work as Ambassador with Beyond Conflict. The Exhibition is in collaboration with the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral, the Ukrainian Welcome Centre (UWC) and War Through Children’s Eyes (WTCE).

Arabella Dorman’s Child of War features art and essays by children from all faiths and cultures from Britain and around the world, relating to conflicts in Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Sri Lanka and beyond.

Curated by Dorman and based on her first-hand experience as a war artist, the exhibition forms a powerful dialogue between artist and child, revealing the profound and lasting psychological impact of conflict-related trauma, the possibility of hope and renewal, and the ways in which children of war may be rehabilitated and supported in our increasingly divided and violent world.

“We believed we were going to die out there. Dark decades. Bitter taste. Migrant drownings. Two million human beings. Terror casts shadows. The future, born to the sound of gunfire. Will the lights go out?” (Extracted from artwork collage by Lula Solomon, 11 years old)

Dorman said:

“These words are taken from a child’s artwork, describing what war looks like through her eyes. More than ever before, children today find themselves targeted, vulnerable and exposed to the full horror of modern warfare.”

Money raised during this period will be in aid of Beyond Conflict, a British registered charity, and our partner, the Ukrainian Welcome Centre, which helps Ukrainian refugees in the UK. After its launch in London, Child of War will be taken on tour by Dorman and Beyond Conflict to schools, places of worship and secular venues with the aim of raising awareness about the mental health impact of war on children and funds to help those affected.

Please support this Exhibition by sharing this link, coming to the Exhibition and/or donating. If you are interested in more information on the Exhibition or wish to bring it to your city, please contact us via the website.