A global charity art project that turns postage stamps and postcards into symbols of solidarity, uniting people across borders to raise funds for Ukrainian relief efforts.
Data tracking global solidarity from 2022 up to 2025.
What began as a personal memory of relaxation and peace unexpectedly echoed the colours of a nation’s struggle. This is the story of how an accidental parallel became a global movement.
On 24 February 2022, the world watched in shock as Russia invaded Ukraine. Like many, project organiser Linda felt a deep need to respond. Searching through her photography archives for a suitable image to use in the call for peace, a photograph taken 13 years earlier emerged.
2009: During a solo bike tour across Canada, reaching Prince Edward Island brought exhaustion. Rounding a bend, a vast field of yellow flowers spread out under a cloudless blue sky. It was a moment of pure serenity and peace.
This image was published as a postcard, but it needed more than just art—it needed the weight of official recognition. Thus, the pursuit of maximum concordance began.
2009 / Canada
A serene field of yellow flowers under a vast blue sky.
A maxicard is a special postcard where the picture, stamp, and postmark all relate to the same theme. Three layers working together to create something meaningful.
A picture that tells a story. This is the foundation of our message.
A small piece of art that matches the postcard’s theme (like a yellow flower).
The postal marking that shows when and where the card was processed.
Assemble your own maxicard below to see how the elements align.
Maximum Concordance Achieved!
When these three elements align, they create a permanent historical record.
Since the 2022 full-scale invasion, the postal agenies of a total of 16 countries have issued special stamps (which we call Ukraine Support Stamps) in response to Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II. Each of these stamps incorporates into its design the blue and yellow colours of Ukraine’s flag more or less prominent.
10 March 2022
24 March 2022
25 March 2022
31 March 2022
12 April 2022
19 April 2022
6 May 2022
9 May 2022
11 May 2022
29 May 2022
23 June 2022
7 July 2022
16 September 2022
27 September 2022
22 November 2022
24 August 2024
These aren’t just pieces of paper. Each stamp represents a country’s official statement of support. When a nation issues a stamp, it’s a permanent record in postal history – a way of saying ‘We remember, we care, and we stand with you.’
A postmark is more than just ink on paper; it is proof of time and place. By using a dated cancellation on Ukraine’s national day, the 24th of August of each year, we capture the exact moment of people’s humanitarian support in a given country.
Building this global archive required massive logistical effort. Every card travelled thousands of kilometers, passing through the hands of participants and postal workers who shared a common vision. Managing deadlines, ensuring correct cancellation techniques, and coordinating with 63 countries created a network of empathy that continues to grow.
The Sunflower (Sonyashnyk) is the national flower of Ukraine. In our collection, it appears as a recurring motif of resilience—turning toward the light even in the darkest times. From stamps to hand-drawn ‘philagraphs’, the sunflower binds the collection together. In countries where no species of sunflower is native, we substitute it with a yellow flower.
Each maxicard in our collection shares the same postcard base, but is paired with differenct country’s sunflower (or yellow flower) stamp and dated postmark. Sometimes, the postmark itself can be fancy—like this Japanese variety uses a sunflower-shaped postmark that our partcicipant needed to drive nearly 2 hours to obtain.
Russia invaded Ukraine
11 countries issued Ukraine Support Stamps
First edition of Stamp Out War launched
3 more countries issued Ukraine Support Stamps
Second edition
Third edition / Australia issued Ukraine Support Stamp
4th edition
254 unique maxicards created by 69 participants from 63 countries, raising funds for Ukraine relief.
Total number of unique maxicards realized over the project lifecycle.
The maxicards created for this project are being auctioned to raise funds for Ukraine relief efforts. Every contribution helps.
All proceeds from the auction of these maxicards go directly to Canada Ukraine’s Foundation for helping refugees, providing food, shelter, and medical care to those affected by the conflict.