Bird of Light Ukraine Opens 'Empty Beds' at the European Parliament in Brussels
The "Empty Beds" installation on the third floor of the European Parliament, Brussels, April 14, 2026. The life-size replica of a Ukrainian child's bedroom was created by Zhanna Galeyeva and Isaac Yeung of Bird of Light Ukraine.
Zhanna Galeyeva, artist and Co-Founder of Bird of Light Ukraine, speaks with Pina Picierno, Vice-President of the European Parliament, inside the "Empty Beds" installation she co-created, Brussels, April 14, 2026.
"Empty Beds" opening, European Parliament, April 14, 2026. L-R: Isaac Yeung, Zhanna Galeyeva (artists, Bird of Light Ukraine), Pina Picierno (VP, European Parliament), Ambassador Vsevolod Chentsov (Head, Ukraine Mission to EU), Julia Kril, Oleksandr Lazuka.
Immersive installation on Russia’s forced deportation of Ukrainian children opens at the invitation of European Parliament Vice-President Pina Picierno.
The opening marks a significant step in the exhibition's European tour. Following its debut at Europa Experience in Luxembourg in March 2026, "Empty Beds" now moves to its highest-profile venue to date. The European Parliament was chosen for its proximity to the decision-makers the installation is designed to reach.
Vice-President Picierno, who championed bringing the installation to the Parliament, described the exhibition as a testimony rather than a collection of statistics. Speaking at the opening, she characterized Russia's systematic removal of Ukrainian children — their detention across more than 210 facilities and the organized effort to erase their names, memories, and sense of belonging — not as collateral damage of war, but as a weapon of war.
The installation recreates the bedroom of "Artem," a composite character developed from verified testimonies of children abducted from occupied Ukraine. Visitors enter a room frozen in October 2022 — a space that carries both the ordinary texture of a teenager's life and the weight of what was taken. A subsonic soundscape, felt as physical pressure rather than heard, runs beneath the silence.
Since 2022, Russia has documented the deportation or forced transfer of more than 20,000 Ukrainian children. Ukrainian officials and international monitors believe the actual number is far higher.
"This room was built as an instrument to reach those with the greatest power to act," said Zhanna Galeyeva, Co-Founder of Bird of Light Ukraine. "Today, childhood itself is being stolen. Thousands of children are taken from their homes, their families, their language — from the world that tells a child who they are. Let this room not become just another conversation. Let it become a reason to act."
"Few people will ever have the opportunity to experience Ukraine for themselves," said Isaac Yeung, Co-Founder of Bird of Light Ukraine. "This room is our attempt to bring Ukraine to them. To turn a news article, a statistic, into a physical reality that they can sit inside."
"Empty Beds" was conceived and created by Zhanna Galeyeva and Isaac Yeung, Co-Founders of Bird of Light Ukraine, building on an original concept by artist Phil Buehler. It is the third chapter of a continuing advocacy series that originated in New York City as a photography exhibition. The current installation — engineered as a modular, touring structure — evolves the concept into a fully three-dimensional, sensory environment designed for rapid deployment in high-visibility venues. The series has been covered by The New York Times and The Guardian, among other international outlets.
The exhibition is organized by Bird of Light Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN: 93-419744) with operations in the United States and Ukraine. Bird of Light Ukraine thanks the Mission of Ukraine to the European Union, the Ombudsman Office of Ukraine, and BK Agency for their support in making the Brussels presentation possible.
Isaac Yeung
Bird of Light Ukraine
+1 332-910-3085
contact@birdoflightukraine.org
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