A Canvas of Resistance: The Incredible Journey of "A Portrait by the People"
Art is usually a singular vision. But what happens when the artist is not one person, and not even one nation—but all of us?
This is the story of "A Portrait by the People"—a gold-framed image of Vladimir Putin that became a vessel for collective grief, a tool for global protest, and now stands as a permanent testament to Ukrainian resilience at the Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago.
This piece was never just an object. It began as a vision: an idea to create a space where people could come face-to-face with the man responsible for their suffering, and through that confrontation, transform their rawest emotions into art.
Act I: The Vision (Kyiv, 2022)
The journey began in the winter of 2022. The concept came to our founder, Zhanna Galeyeva, in a dream during her time on the ground in Ukraine. Drawing inspiration from Marina Abramović’s The Artist is Present, she envisioned an immersive experience where the "audience" would become the artist.
At a charity auction for displaced families in Kyiv, we created a private space hidden behind velvet curtains. Inside, guests found themselves standing directly before a museum-quality portrait of the dictator.
The intent was not to shock, but to unlock. Beside the portrait sat a tea set filled with paint. The invitation was silent but powerful: express yourself.
For the first time, displaced families—people who had lost homes and loved ones—could look the source of their pain in the eye. They took up brushes and released their burden onto the canvas. Fear turned into action. Silence turned into a scream of color. What began as a pristine image of tyranny was rewritten by the hands of survivors.
Act II: The Protest (New York, 2024)
The portrait then crossed the ocean, carrying the energy of those first strokes in Kyiv to the cultural battlegrounds of New York City.
When we learned the Russian Mariinsky Theater—a state-sponsored "soft power" tool—was scheduled to perform at Lincoln Center, we knew we had to act. We brought the portrait to the front lines of a coalition protest.
Activists dressed as a Russian ballet troupe danced before the gold-framed tyrant, splattering the scene with red paint. The art piece became a shield, protecting the cultural integrity of the West from normalization. The visual was undeniable, the press coverage was immediate, and the pressure worked: the performances were canceled.
Act III: The Playa (Burning Man, 2024)
In September 2024, the portrait traveled to the dust of Black Rock City. Thanks to the "magic of the Playa"—and the help of strangers who became allies—the piece found a home deep in the desert.
Engineers from San Diego built a mount; artists from the "Naga & The Captainess" installation helped register it; solar lights were donated to illuminate it in the deep night.
Thousands of Burners from around the world encountered the face of autocracy in the middle of the desert. They were invited to participate in the same ritual that began in Kyiv: to write, draw, and scratch their feelings onto the surface. It became a global guestbook of resistance, proving that the desire for freedom is a universal language.
The Final Destination: Chicago
Today, the journey has reached a profound milestone. "A Portrait by the People" is now on display at the Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago.
It hangs directly across from a piece depicting the word "ДІТИ" (Children)—the plea painted outside the Mariupol Theatre before it was bombed.
The placement is heartbreakingly poetic. On one wall, the source of the darkness. On the other, the innocent lives lost. But standing between them is the viewer—you.
This artwork proves that while darkness is real, the light of truth must always prevail. It reminds us that memory is a form of resistance, and that every voice added to this canvas helped build a bridge to justice.
Bird of Light Ukraine is honored to have shepherded this piece from a vision in Kyiv to the world stage. We will continue to shine a light on the truth, one story at a time.
