New Delhi, May 11 -- A contemporary art fair has been held in the Ukrainian capital with an unusual premise: that art can help a society come to terms with what war has made normal.

"Holding the event during wartime means not waiting for a better moment, but working with reality as it is," said Anna Avetova, director of the Art Kyiv fair. "In this context, art does not stand apart from life - it helps make sense of the present, preserve cultural continuity, and lay the groundwork for the future."

Titled This is Normal, the fair has become a space where Ukrainians try to make sense through painting, sculpture and conversation of a reality in which missile strikes, death and loss have quietly become a part of ordinary life.

Hundreds of w...