The “Recognize. React” Exhibition in Berlin

The exhibition and project were presented by Ivanka Rudakevych, Project and Program Director at the UCU Center for the Dignity of the Child. The event was held in collaboration with the Renovabis Foundation. Burkhard Roos, who is responsible for prevention at the Archdiocese of Berlin, also spoke at the opening. The presentation was attended by participants of the 29th Renovabis International Congress, “The Untouchable and the Vulnerable: Human Dignity Between Universal Demands and Social Conflicts in Europe.”

The international project “SAFEGUARDING: Child Safety in the Church Environment” includes an online course developed in collaboration with child protection experts from the Catholic Church in six countries—Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, and Hungary—as well as the exhibition “Recognize. Respond.” This project has a unique feature—an artistic component that powerfully addresses child abuse while also serving a therapeutic purpose and helping to reframe this complex issue.

Artist and icon painter Ulyana Krekhovets created illustrations for the course in her signature sketch style. These images lend artistic expression to the sensitive topic of child abuse. Later, the sketches became the basis for the exhibition “Recognize. React.” The installation features over 100 T-shirts, each telling a story—about joy, a happy childhood, as well as pain or trauma—and together they form a “crowd of people,” where everyone has their own story.

The exhibition encourages visitors to reflect on how we, as adults, can create a safe space for our children and how we can combat child abuse.

The installation “Recognize.React – Unsichtbare Geschichten in der Menge” at St. James’s Church in Berlin will be on display until September 30.

Photos by Marlene Krekeler, Mathilda Koch, Solomiya Boiko