Nonprofit ArtHelps and agency Jung von Matt is sending a powerful message of resilience and hope to Ukraine for 2024, by turning repurposed weaponry into musical instruments.
The centerpiece of the “Resistruments” campaign is this music video, "Breaking the Silence," featuring Ukrainian youth playing the instruments crafted from the repurposed weapons, which were created out of war scrap and include a violin made from a missile warhead, a cello crafted from parts of a carrier rocket and a guitar with a body fashioned from a fuel canister used to refuel Russian tanks.
ArtHelps, which is headquartered in Stuttgart and specializes in art therapy, worked in collaboration with Jung von Matt Neckar on the initiative, which took place at the newly established Creative Hub of ArtHelps in Kyiv. Spanning over 1200 square meters, this hub, established in partnership with the Saving an Angel Foundation and the Save Ukraine organization, serves as a workshop space and art therapy training center. ArtHelps has developed a unique training program to assist traumatized children and adolescents through creative workshops and art therapy. The musical instruments were built during this program with Ukrainian children and teenagers in September of this year. The highlight of the workshop was the filming of the music video, and professionally staged with the young participants.
“The reactions to this campaign vividly demonstrate the strength of creativity,” said Andreas Brunsch, managing creative director at Jung von Matt. “Considering that these instruments seen here were previously fired by the Russian army onto the homes and cities of these young people, one can only have respect and hope that the initiative helps inform and inspire.”
Directed and shot by Samuel Ramm of ArtHelps, the video showcases an exclusive and moving composition by Yury Revich, an internationally acclaimed Austrian-Russian soloist who has played with renowned orchestras worldwide.
