An art exhibition and fundraiser for Ukraine with work by a young Ukrainian artist Anastasiia Piatakova + live sessions by Apostille and DJ Lady Neptune at Ushi’s Coffee Corner 

Off-site event co-organised and facilitated by one of our director-curators – Aga Paulina Młyńczak.

Thanks to everyone who came to the opening of “Pause. This Is Not Tourism”

Aga Paulina Młyńczak @aga.mlynczak – under the umbrella of Artists at Risk @artistsatrisk – mentored a young, refugee painter Anastasiia Piatakova @anastasiia_pyen through organising a fundraising exhibition of her work. Thank you to Michael Mersinis @michael_mersinis for a touching and thoughtful foreword. Thank you to Apostille @apostolos_kasparis, Holly Allan and Ushi’s Coffee Corner for your generous help with organisation. Thank you to DJ Lady Neptune @l4dyn3ptune for the tunes and Apostille for giving an unforgettable performance. And finally, thank you to Good Press @good_press for their reliable, high quality printing with excellent colours.

So far we have raised over £270.00 which will go towards Ukraine and rebuilding Anastasiia’s home town. The artwork is still available for viewing at Ushi’s at least until the Christmas break.

Exhibition text:

This is a series of original paintings from Kherson, Lviv and Mykolaiv, Ukraine. The artist Anastasiia Piatakova is an 18-year-old war refugee living in Scotland. She arrived in the UK at the end of June 2022. Since then, she has been planning to raise funds for United 24 – a charitable organisation established by president Zelensky. All profits from the sales in this exhibition will be donated to United 24 and go towards the most pressing needs of Piatakova’s home country.

In the series there are over twenty A4 and twelve A5 paintings on card. All works arrived with Piatakova, who in March 2022 hitch-hiked from Kherson to Lviv, took a bus to Warsaw and arrived by plane to the UK. On the way
she stayed at four different refugee camps. Now, she’s living and working in Glasgow.

She wants to address the stereotypes about refugees and migrants. This is not tourism. This is a pause that we take to escape the war and oppression and, to make a contribution to those who keep us in safety.

“I still cannot believe that me, a novice artist from Ukraine, can make art useful and that it is finding space to echo in your hearts.”
– Anastasiia Piatakova

The work will remain on display and available for purchase until the 18th of December 2022.

Poster design credit: @aga.mlynczak