"Seeds of Hope," an art exhibit of works by Belarusian children affected by the Chernobyl disaster, will be held at the Mountain Arts Community Center in Signal Mountain during April. An opening reception will be held in GALLERY 5 at the MACC from 5-7 p.m. Friday, April 8, with showings of the film "The Babushkas of Chernobyl" at 4, 5 and 6 p.m.The Chernobyl Children's Program of Greater Chattanooga is sponsoring "Seeds of Hope," an art exhibit of works by Belarusian children, at the Mountain Arts Community Center in Signal Mountain this month. An opening reception will be held in GALLERY 5 at the MACC from 5-7 p.m. Friday, April 8, with showings of the film "The Babushkas of Chernobyl" at 4, 5 and 6 p.m.
The catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred in 1986 in Chernobyl, then part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union, left many children orphaned in Belarus, where most of the fallout landed.
In 1992, the Chernobyl Children's Program of Greater Chattanooga was established to facilitate local visits by children affected by the accident. Lookout Mountain resident Eve Soltau, who now heads the organization, hosted her first child in 1994 and has been involved ever since.
The Belarusian government began prohibiting the children from visiting the U.S. in 2008 following the defection of a child who was hosted by a family in California, said Soltau, but the Chattanooga organization continues its relationship with the children of Belarus by working with orphanages, foster children and post-orphan children (young adults orphaned as children) in that country, where the group also sponsors a summer camp, as opposed to hosting children here in the U.S.
MACC Director Barb Storm sings in the choir at First Presbyterian Church, and said she found out about the Chattanooga organization from fellow choir members who know Soltau. The church is connected with several ministries it supports in Belarus, and Storm is part of a combined choir from FPC and Covenant Presbyterian Church traveling to the country to perform this summer.
This past fall, Storm hosted a sale of works by Belarusian children at the Republican College of Art in Minsk, Belarus, where children affected by the disaster who had an interest in art were sent, to raise funds to help support them. It was such a success that Soltau said the organization wanted to sponsor an exhibit at MACC as well to help raise awareness and funds, all of which go directly to support the children at the school.
The Chernobyl Children's Program of Greater Chattanooga provided the funding to purchase the rights to show "The Babushkas of Chernobyl," an award-winning documentary focusing on "babushkas," or grandmothers, who remained in the evacuated areas after the accident - and the interesting fact that these women are healthier than most who left.
"I think it's a unique opportunity in our area to see something that's affecting people on a global scale," Storm said of the exhibit and film showings. "People can come and not only see the artwork and the film, but actually help support people who are still affected by the incident. I think some people would be absolutely thrilled to own an original piece of artwork by Belarusian children and to help support them with proceeds from the sale."
The MACC is at 809 Kentucky Ave., Signal Mountain, and can be reached at 886-1959. For more information about the Chernobyl Children's Program of Greater Chattanooga visit chernobylchildrensprogramofgreaterchattanooga.wordpress.com.