ExhibitsUSA’s War Toys: Ukraine at the National World War I Museum and Memorial
By Sarah Mote
Children often share their experiences and emotions through indirect methods of communication, such as art and play. As a result, their personal accounts of war frequently go unseen and unheard by the international community.
War Toys: Ukraine, a traveling exhibition through M-AAA’s ExhibitsUSA and now on exhibit at the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, draws attention to individual children and communities affected by war.
Internationally recognized photographer Brian McCarty collaborates with specialized therapists and children who have been affected by conflict on a unique project titled War Toys, which is now active in and near Ukraine. The project invokes principles of expressive art therapy to safely gather and articulate children’s accounts of warfare.
Viewers of War Toys: Ukraine will see children’s drawings presented alongside McCarty’s photographs. In the process of sharing their artwork, children would often reveal the details that were most important or impactful to them, but some elements were buried, as if to protect them. Exhibition visitors will also gain an understanding of the specialized support for children and caregivers and the psychosocial programs developed by the War Toys nonprofit organization.
Photographer Brian McCarty, founder and executive director of War Toys,
speaks at the opening reception for War Toys: Ukraine at the
National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri.
War Toys: Ukraine is on view at the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, through January 5, 2025.