An update on the Icons on Ammunition Boxes exhibition.

Southwark Cathedral is delighted to announce that visitor donations, combined with the purchase of several icons, raised almost £20,000 to support front line medical units in Ukraine.

The exhibition, which was comprised of icons painted on fragments of ammunition boxes by Ukrainian artists Sofia Atlantova and Oleksandr Klymenko, was presented in partnership with Ukrainian foundation "Peli can live", the Rotary Club of Guildford Chantries and the Rotary Club Kyiv-Capital. 

The Rotary Club of Guildford Chantries has been the project's main British partner since January 2024. Speaking on behalf of the Club, Mike Danson said: 'The purpose of the icons is two-fold: to demonstrate how beauty can arise from the horrors of war, and to raise funds to support the medical needs of both the civilian population and the military.

They were on display in different parts of the UK, travelling from London to Oxford, to Edinburgh, to Guildford, and to Newcastle, before arriving in Southwark. From my perspective, Southwark is the most successful Exhibition to date!

The wonderful total raised will enable medics in Ukraine purchase items that are essential for their work on the frontline and in the wreckage of destroyed buildings.We are proud, and humbled, to be the custodians of such funds that will bring some comfort to people undergoing such horrors that most of us will never experience and can’t fully imagine.’

Currently, Peli can live are looking for a portable X-Ray machine to help fulfil the needs of the front line medical units.

To read more about the exhibition's impact and the work of Peli can live, visit their website: Art project ‘Icons on Ammo Boxes’