Edward Akrout on Art in War

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/13

Art Shield, founded by Edward Akrout, is dedicated to Ukrainian cultural preservation and global humanitarian efforts. It identifies emerging artists in conflict zones, amplifies their work through exhibitions and media partnerships, and supports their growth through education and funding. Art Shield’s initiatives include art sales, immersive events, and redistributing proceeds to fund art centers and therapy programs. Notable projects include Deocoupage Wine and the Echoes & Visions exhibition. The organization aims to expand into Toronto, Mexico City, and Vancouver, fostering global artistic resilience while advocating for democracy and cultural heritage protection.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Okay, so today we are here with Edward Akrout, the founder and CEO of Art Shield. Art Shield plays a role in Ukrainian cultural preservation and humanitarian efforts. It focuses on an important aspect of maintaining culture amid war, which is often overlooked compared to more immediate concerns like rebuilding infrastructure, reconstruction efforts after bombings, and humanitarian aid—ensuring people survive and can continue their lives. Military efforts are an obvious priority. Geopolitical strategies are another. However, I believe art is equally important—not in the short term, but in the long term. This is why it is often not discussed during wartime, as the focus is always on immediate crises. People tend to prioritize the present moment. Before we discuss Art Shield, I want to get your perspective. What do you think is the relevance of art and cultural heritage to humanitarian and preservation efforts in the long term?

Edward Akrout: Well, what we see in Ukraine right now reminds us of something forgotten in the West. In Europe, there has been a default pacifism, which is understandable—it is a trauma response to the devastation of the Second World War. Particularly in the arts and culture sector, there has always been an assumption that war is inherently bad and should be avoided at all costs. That has been the general position of people working in arts and culture. However, we are witnessing in Ukraine that all the great cultural achievements we cherish today exist because they were safeguarded at some point. And they still need safeguarding.

I first became involved in Ukraine in 2013 while acting in a film. One of the key things that led me to create Art Shield was my work on a documentary about artists in wartime. That project was a coincidence—I initially just wanted to support theatres. I started by asking actors in Ukrainian theatres to record short videos explaining what they needed and how the war had affected their work. Through this, I discovered the stories of actors who had joined the Ukrainian army. Then, I learned about artists who had also enlisted and volunteered.

This was surprising to me because actors are trained in empathy—so how do they engage in the dehumanizing process of war? It also felt like an alarm bell. When people who have the broadest understanding of human emotions and capabilities decide to put down their brushes, leave the stage, and pick up a weapon, it signals how existential this war is—not just for Ukrainian culture but for the very space we have built in the West to sustain artistic and cultural diversity.

Jacobsen: And so, when we’re thinking about Art Shield, where does it come in regarding the core promotion of Ukrainian culture and shaping cultural identity in real-time?

Akrout: Our operation is fairly simple. We identify artists with strong aesthetics and concepts that belong to art history and focus on potential artistic movements.

Throughout history, much of what we perceive as genius has emerged from specific artistic scenes—whether it was Montparnasse in the 1920s, Manhattan in the 1980s, or Williamsburg in the 1990s. Many of these great artists emerged from the cultural effervescence of these places in time. We recognize Ukraine—Kyiv specifically, and the Golden Gate neighbourhood—as one of those vibrant artistic scenes.

That is where we first established ourselves and where we met most of the artists we have collaborated with. Once we identify these talents, we amplify their voices by organizing exhibitions. We have held exhibitions in London and done some work in New York, and we are planning to expand to Los Angeles.

We also have an incredible press partner, Paradox Public Relations , which has been amplifying these artists’ voices by securing placements in top-tier media outlets. One of the artists, Gamlet, we have been working with since the start of the war is known as the Banksy of Kharkiv. He has been creating street art in recently liberated Izyum. Thanks to the efforts of Paradox PR, his work was featured in The New York Times, which was a major achievement for us.

We are also supporting another project that we are very excited about. Another project for which we have garnered significant media attention is Deocoupage Wine. Tetyana Boryanova was a Human Rights Watch producer, translator, and fixer. On September 11, 2022, she was among the first people to enter Izyum after its liberation.

Izyum was one of the first towns occupied by Russian forces, and horrific war crimes took place there. In the first few weeks after its liberation, before other authorities could arrive, Human Rights Watch was on the ground investigating war crimes. Tetyana spent weeks there, translating interviews with civilians reporting these crimes.

Every time Tetyana entered a home in Izyum, the residents were so happy to see people that they offered her grapes. People grow grapes in their gardens there and make their wine. Those grapes had grown during the Russian occupation and were harvested upon liberation.

The people deeply moved her, and what was presented to her, so she felt compelled to do something with it. She created a wine called Deocoupage —a name that plays on the word “occupation.” She collaborated with Gamlet, the artist I mentioned, and used his work on the bottles. We have showcased these bottles on multiple occasions in London and sold a few of them.

One hundred percent of the proceeds will go to Superhumans, an organization that provides prosthetics to civilians and military personnel.

Jacobsen: You have also provided generators, lights, and equipment to areas heavily impacted by the Russian occupation, as far as I know.

Akrout: That was among the first things we did in 2022 and 2023. Our first money was used to equip several theatres with incredibly important generators. At that time—just as Russia is still doing today—they were bombing civilian infrastructure, leaving people in the dark.

One of the first things I witnessed when I went to Ukraine was people gathering in the dark, unheated theatres to watch plays lit only by candlelight. That moment deeply moved me, and I felt compelled to support those theatres. We managed to provide generators for several of them.

We also produced a Christmas pantomime for refugee children from Mariupol. That was a beautiful project.

Jacobsen: What do events like Echoes and Visions in London mean to you, and what challenges arise in organizing such events?

Akrout: What has been extraordinary about Echoes and Visions is the quality of work we have been kindly donated—particularly by Knotel and Sätila Studios. The venue itself was remarkable. This is where Charles Dickens wrote Oliver Twist. It’s an 18th-century courthouse, one of the most beautiful landmarks in London.

In many ways, we saw it as symbolic—bringing justice back to the courthouse. That venue became a hub for the Ukrainian community in London. They felt like it was their home. It was very important to create a space that united the Ukrainian community and those who supported Ukraine.

What became incredibly inspiring was that as our events grew, we began to scale them up. We hosted over ten bands, screened eight films, and organized multiple panel talks. When Stephanie Baker came, we held a panel discussion with her about economic warfare and how to defeat Putin.

It became a cultural center. We started attracting people who didn’t necessarily have an initial interest in Ukraine—some were even, frankly, victims of Russian propaganda. But they came because of the quality of the events themselves.

Akrout: They were coming for the quality of the art, and that, for us, was one of our biggest wins. We captured the attention of the Ukrainian embassy, which showed its support.

The Echoes and Visions exhibition took place over three or four events. One of our first big projects was at the Old Session House; we are all very proud.

Jacobsen: Given your mission to protect and nurture art in times of crisis, how has the international community responded?

Akrout: I cannot speak for the entire international community. Most of our events have occurred in international cities like London and New York, so we have engaged with people from many different backgrounds.

As I mentioned earlier, one of our biggest victories was attracting people not initially supportive of Ukraine—people who came purely for the quality of the art because they found it beautiful or interesting. Then, through their exposure, they started learning something. Some even changed their perspectives.

We focus on that the most. We are less concerned with observing the response and more focused on shaping and educating it as much as possible.

We received a beautiful letter of support. Ambassador Valerii Zaluzhnyi invited me to the Ukrainian embassy to receive it. He wrote a heartfelt letter recognizing the contributions of Art Shield and our partners—Dom Master Klass and Paradox Media—for our work in supporting Ukrainian culture.

The embassy’s cultural attaché attended all our events. They were very moved when a non-Ukrainian organization recognized that the Ukrainian issue was not just Ukraine’s concern. Democracies at large have a moral duty to support Ukraine.

Jacobsen: What are your plans for expansion and future projects with Art Shield to support more artists from or currently stuck in conflict zones? Do you hope to extend your presentations beyond international hubs like New York and London to other major cities, such as Vancouver, Toronto, Mexico City, and similar places?

Akrout: During the last Kyiv Art Sessions, we launched a very exciting partnership with Subjektiv, a company founded by a group of Ukrainians from the art and finance sectors. Subjective functions like a new Artsy in many ways, but it is much more efficient.

It is an online platform for selling art, but it also handles shipping, ownership tracking, and even secondary market relevance. We have now become official partners with Subjektiv, and with their support, we have begun developing the Art Shield Gallery.

From the beginning, Art Shield was meant to focus on global art in crisis—not just Ukraine. However, the situation in Ukraine became so urgent that we had to focus on it exclusively, especially as we were still establishing ourselves as an organization. But now, we finally have the bandwidth to expand.

Through our online gallery, we now represent artists from 11 different countries and are in discussions with artists from 24 more.

Additionally, we have secured another major partnership at the Barker Building in downtown Los Angeles, where we plan to establish a permanent cultural hub. This will greatly expand our operations. As you mentioned, we also hope that our online art sales revenue will allow us to grow into other cities like Toronto, Mexico City, and Vancouver.

Strong support exists for our work in Canada. I have always felt that Canadians care deeply about democracy and the world in general. Throughout my travels, I’ve often met people I initially thought were American—they were knowledgeable, curious about the world, and engaged. But six or seven times out of ten, they were Canadian. That is just the reality.

So, we would love to collaborate more with Canada.

Jacobsen: What does this project mean to you in the long term? Art is deeply personal—that is its entire purpose. What does Art Shield mean to you as a long-term project?

Akrout: I grew up with an artist. He passed away when I was 15. As a child, I witnessed firsthand the fragility of both art and the artist.

That experience must have influenced my impulse to create Art Shield. It has always been about the art and the artist. That is the emotional aspect.

On a more rational level, I was influenced by a report called the V-Dem Report, which assesses the health of democracies worldwide. Years ago, I read that in 2011, 30% of the world lived under autocracy. By 2021, that number had risen to 70%.

By demographics alone, the democratic world was shrinking.

Artists are natural leaders—they shape the world we live in. Artists have shaped all the most beautiful things around us, but they have also been shaped by the patrons who supported them.

We felt compelled to create a platform where artists and patrons could work together to shape a better world.

Jacobsen: Edward, you made it. Thank you very much for your time today. I appreciate it.

Akrout: Thank you, Scott.

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