Testimonies about the flight of women and their children from war-torn Ukraine will go on show at a central London museum.

Documentary photographer Polly Braden's Leaving Ukraine exhibition, coming to the Foundling Museum in Bloomsbury this spring, is the story of families forced to flee their homes because of the Russian invasion.

Six million civilians are now refugees — mostly women and children.

Polly has been documenting their lives scattered across Europe after escaping to countries including the UK.

The exhibition is about extraordinary journeys by mothers, daughters, teenagers and babies in arms — the unseen burden of social care by women in wartime in humanitarian roles as providers for their children.

“Millions have been uprooted,” Polly says. “They are now trying to forge new lives elsewhere against the backdrop of war in their homeland. I wanted to make sure these less visible stories were told.”

Polly captures the highs and lows of job interviews, first days at school, poignant family reunions and working gruelling night shifts. She mirrors the passing of everyday life as babies grow into toddlers and teenagers into young adults.

Foundling Museum director Emma Ridgway said: “We see personal relationships through Polly’s compassionate lens that would usually be hidden from view. They echo the agonising choices faced by women throughout history to ensure the safety of their children.”

The exhibition is a reminder of the global refugee and migrant crisis and the millions of women and children currently displaced around the world. 

The venue for Polly’s show is appropriate, as the museum itself is the story of the Foundling Hospital opened in 1739 as a home for children whose mothers couldn’t keep or care for them. It was Britain’s first children’s charity and the first public art gallery.

Artists made it Georgian London’s most fashionable cause and destination. Hogarth donated works and persuaded other artists to do the same. Dickens was also a supporter and Handel conducted benefit concerts of Messiah in the hospital chapel.  

The Foundling is known for its “disruptive spirit” using art to unravel the past and keep stories alive and relevant, like Polly Braden’s Ukraine testimonies.

The exhibition runs from March 15 until September 1. Admission to the museum in Brunswick Square, Bloomsbury, is £10.50 adults, with donation.