Besides the 12 million Ukrainians who have fled their country due to the current war, there is also a mass exodus of Russian intellectuals, artists, and other citizens leaving Russia. Trauma related to exile figures prominently in Alexandra Pregel’s art. Pregel lost two countries that were dear to her heart.

The City of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) has awarded a grant of $50,000 for a Chicago Monuments Project (CMP) to Hinda Seif, Associate Professor of Sociology/Anthropology at University of Illinois Springfield, and Laurie Matheson, director of the University of Illinois Press.