On November 18 and 19 the First Lady of Ukraine Maryna Poroshenko took part in the presentation of the ‘Puzzles of Eternity’ project to the Ukrainian community of Great Britain.

The Puzzles of Eternity project, launched by the young violinists Illia Bondarenko and Tetyana Zhmendak, is aimed at the preservation of the global art treasury, ‘the Bach Archive’ and, the unique sculptural heritage of Johann Georg Pinzel. The wife of the Ukrainian President is Patron of the project.

Two charity concerts took place in London – at the Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile and at the Ukrainian Embassy. The funds, raised during these events, will be directed towards the creation of multilingual digital archives of the unique musical notes that are stored in Kyiv, as well as full restoration of the museum, 3D-frescos and Pinzel’s sculptures in Lviv.

The programme also featured jazz arrangements of works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Ukrainian folkloric melodies , as well as jazz standards.

Addressing the audience Mrs Maryna Poroshenko emphasized the significance of the presentation of the Ukrainian culture in London by children: “It is a great pleasure for me that the face of the project is children, our young generation, which is living art. Not only do they showcase to the world another Ukraine – educated, cultural, with deep spiritual roots, but they also present the country in which they would like to live, which they are building now.”

Mrs Poroshenko also met with representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora in London, namely members of Ukraine Aid, civic and cultural leaders and clergy. The First Lady expressed her gratitude for their help and support for Ukraine and stated: “We really want Ukraine to be known to the world not only as the country of brave and free people, but also as an artistic, talented, spiritually rich nation. Each of you is an integral part of our big beautiful country.”