Icons on Ammo Boxes: Christian Art of Hope and Sorrow from the War in Ukraine

Fairfield University is hosting  an exhibition of Ukrainian sacred art created from ammunition boxes recovered from the front lines of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Since 2015, shortly after the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine, artists Sonia Atlantova and Oleksandr Klymenko have transformed fragments of ammunition boxes recovered from the front lines into sacred works of art. Drawing from the centuries-old tradition of Orthodox icon writing, their internationally recognized Icons on Ammo Boxes project bears witness to the tragedy of war while offering prayer and hope for a just peace.

The Icons on Ammo Boxes project has been displayed all over the world, including recently at the Scottish Parliament (2025), the Parliament of Finland (2025), and in Rome at St. Peter’s Cathedral (2025). Last year, in the exhibition Wartime Beauty, the project was on display at Fordham University’s Refuge Gallery through the university’s Orthodox Christian Studies Center. The project supports volunteer initiatives dedicated to helping soldiers and civilians who have suffered injury, trauma, and displacement due to the war.