At the Museum of New Art, August 13 – September 13, 2026
Opening on August 13 at 4:00 PM
The exhibition features 14 monumental original artworks—measuring 2.5 × 1.8 meters—created by approximately 40 children and young people (aged 5–17) from the Aza Nizi Maza art studio in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
The studio currently operates out of a World War II-era bomb shelter in Kharkiv. It is there—underground—that the children learn, meet, and create, even now, while the city faces daily attacks by drones, missiles, and guided aerial bombs.
"Lost Stories" was born from the idea of creating a "missing museum"—a world composed of forgotten legends, untold tales, and new mythologies inspired by the Baroque collections of European museums. The monumental scale of the artworks allows the viewer to literally step into these visual worlds and become part of the unfolding narratives.
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 where previously unknown storylines began to emerge.
The next step was to find forms for the future characters. The participants drew beggars and princesses, saints and bandits, sages and witches, children and those who had seen it all. They experimented with facial expressions, seeking a character who would lend authenticity to the fairy tale.
Once the characters were defined, the process of assembling the storylines began—much like working with a large construction set—enriched by distinctive details that simultaneously heightened the emotional resonance of each piece.
A story comes to life 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 been transformed by circumstances, or is this merely the start of a profound metamorphosis?
The exhibition is the result of a collaboration between Ukrainian and Estonian partners, symbolizing the ongoing cultural dialogue between our nations.
Exhibition curators: Mykola Kolomiiets
(Founder and head of the Aza Nizi Maza art studio) and Iryna Hrytska
Exhibition organizers: NGO Ukraine Center and the Museum of New Art
With thanks to: the City of Pärnu, the Integration Foundation, the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, and RIZA.
