ARTIST BIO

Being raised in post-Soviet Ukraine where the sensation of all-encompassing conformity had still considerable power, I have always thought of dedicating my life to the arts.  Even in my adolescent mind, creativity insinuated freedom of the human spirit on an individual level as well as the nation. As a child, I was surrounded by fascinating wooden sculptures that my grandfather – a self-taught artist and also a teacher, had been carving all his life. That was my first exposure to a character trait that I came to admire--dedication. My grandfather’s astoundingly pure love for the visual arts showed me that nothing is impossible and courage along with determination will always win in the end.

 

Nevertheless, the path to my dreams of self-realization was not easy. After sixteen years in Eastern Europe, right after I discovered my passion for writing, I moved across the ocean to another continent. Losing everything that was dear to me in my home country, including my love for the Ukrainian language, I had to rediscover how I can adapt my passion for creativity in a new and different world. My educational background in the United States began with painting and drawing, which followed by a fascination with psychology. But I only began to feel like I belonged in this country four years later, when I enrolled in costume design at the Conservatory for Theatre Arts in Saint Louis, Mo.

 

For ten years I have been submerged in theatre arts, mostly in the role of a costume designer. With storytelling as this art form’s foundation, I have discovered a new world, where the power of stories cannot only influence us on an individual level but also bring whole communities together.

 

In 2016 I have gone on a month-long pilgrimage where I walked five hundred miles across Spain. I knew I would be out of my comfort zone, but after some hesitations, I had finally decided to go on my own. It was during this trip that I have found the courage, to be honest with myself, and admit that I needed to work on my life-work balance. I also came to a realization that I wanted certain aspects of my life to change. Shortly after the trip, I began to draw again, not for any productions but for myself.  My drawings sparked a journey of a self-discovery, a time and place to revisit the feeling of complete freedom.

 

In 2019  I went back to Ukraine. Besides continuing to experiment with my art-making process and working at an IT company, I am also a co-manager of Intellias Art Point, a contemporary art gallery located in the office of the company I work at. Through the performing arts, I have learned the importance of community engagement in critical dialogue that acts as a catalyst to the possibility of shifting existing viewpoints. It is our goal to engage in the dynamic mix of contemporary visual, performing, literary and media art, in hopes of creating an atmosphere of active engagement with new and traditional knowledge of structures.