Ukrainian Artists Camp
Two ten-day educational retreats were organized and conducted in resort areas in Croatia in response to the horrors of the war in Ukraine.
The project aimed to address issues of fragmentation within the cultural and artistic sector, as the invited participants could be either temporarily displaced individuals or those who had chosen to remain in Ukraine. They included representatives from Ukrainian arts higher education institutions, professionals interested in art therapy, those working within communities, final-year students in related fields, and their children. In total, over 100 Ukrainians aged 5 to 67 attended the camps.
The project was organized by the festival “Uliss” (Croatia) and the NGO “ART DOT” (Kharkiv, Ukraine). Financially, the project was supported by private donors, the Croatian IT startup “Infobip,” the organization “Continental Wind Partners,” and others.
The project took place in two sessions.
The first camp (from September 18 to 28, 2022) was focused on performance therapy and interdisciplinary approaches. The participants of the first camp included:
- Yana Partola – Dean of the Theater Faculty at Kharkiv National University of Arts named after I.P. Kotlyarevsky.
- Maya Garbuziuk – Dean of the Theater Faculty at Lviv National University named after I. Franko.
- Oksana Dmitriyeva – Chief Director of the Kharkiv Academic Puppet Theater.
- Olga Puzhakivska – Director, Artistic Director of the Lviv Academic Theater named after Lesya Ukrainka.
- Alina Khanbabayeva – Director of the NGO “Cultural Agency A” and co-founder of the platform ‘First Scene of Contemporary Drama’ ‘Drama.UA’ (Lviv), and others.
The second camp (from September 8 to 18, 2022) was focused on music and body-oriented therapy. The participants of this camp were:
- Anastasiya Shyroka – Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology and Psychotherapy of the Ukrainian Catholic University (Lviv).
- Yulia Nikolaievska – Professor at the Department of Interpretology and Music Analysis of the Kharkiv National University of Arts named after I.P. Kotlyarevsky.
- Alla Rastrigina – Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences at the Department of Art Education of the Central Ukrainian University named after V.Vynnychenko (Kropyvnytskyi).
The educational part of the project was based on a multidisciplinary training in art therapy led by Professor Nigel Osborne and his team. He introduced methods of using music and art to support children traumatized by armed conflicts. This method was developed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992–1995) and was later widely implemented in the Balkans, Caucasus, Middle East, East Africa, Southeast Asia, and India. Nigel was awarded the Freedom Institute Peace Prize in Sarajevo, specifically for his work with Bosnian children during the siege of the city, for his methodology.
Nigel Osborne is a professor of music and humanitarian sciences at the University of Edinburgh, specializes in medical humanities and artistic approaches to trauma, with experience working in conflict zones across the Balkans, Caucasus, Middle East, West and East Africa, and Southeast Asia.
Dr. Angela Kennedy is a clinical psychologist, has been working in the NHS since 1990, focusing her clinical experience mainly on the needs of traumatized adults.
She currently serves on the board of the Covid Healthcare Response Appeal charity organization, as well as the European Society for Trauma and Dissociation. She manages the Emotional Engagement SIG department for the Compassionate Mind Foundation and heads the mental health department of the Clinical Network of Northern England.
Lenka Udovychenko is a director of the Uliss Theatre.
“Ukrainian artists will be at the forefront of rebuilding the country, healing the damages and devastation left by the war. We experienced in the 1990s how violence and trauma affect society as a whole, and we understand the crucial role of artists and artistic practices in helping society recognize and process its trauma and begin the healing process.”
Veronika Sklyarova is a director of Parade-fest and Art Therapy Force.
“Close to 100 female ukrainian artists and their children will be able to relax in one of the most beautiful corners of the world, on an island in the Brijuni National Park. And this is already a great achievement.
But the project is much more extensive. It will lay the foundation for academic art therapy education in the country. In a society traumatized from children to the elderly, we can and must educate an entire generation of professionals who can work with trauma using the most advanced methodologies.”
About Brijuni
The camp was situated on the island of Mali Brijuni, the second largest island in the Brijuni National Park, which is a group of fourteen small islands located in Istria, the former Italian province in northwestern Croatia. During the communist era, Brijuni served as a private island for General Tito, a ‘progressive dictator,’ who welcomed there a lot of notable figures of the time, including Indira Gandhi and Haile Selassie.
About Ulysses
The Ulysses organization was founded 22 years ago in 2001, after the Balkan War, as a meeting point for artists from different countries of the former Yugoslavia and the world, regardless of religion, ethnic background, or origin. The project aimed to create a safe space for creative exchange and healing through art. The goal of this project, festival, and theater was to unite and collaborate creatively in creating a free and safe environment. In response to the terrible challenges of war that inflicted trauma on an entire generation of artists, making it impossible to create. To this day, the organization takes care of children in Bosnia, holds events for children with disabilities, and more. Over more than twenty years, they have welcomed over 3000 participants from the entire region and the world.
ABOUT ART DOT
ART DOT is a public organization that aims to conduct artistic and educational events to stimulate civic activism and create an ecological space for implementing social improvements and responsibility. We emphasize performing arts as a mediator of the level of consciousness of civil society and a nonviolent instrument of inclusion and social tension. We integrate contemporary Ukrainian culture into the context of world art. In 6 years of existence, the organization has conducted numerous cultural programs and events, released educational materials on the work of art institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic, and organized networking programs for librarians in district centers of Kharkiv region. One of the most important programs is “Parade-fest” – a cross-sectoral festival about the right to the city, which, through education, art, and social initiatives, promotes harmonious democratic changes in civil society and raises the level of cultural leaders. Through its activities, the NGO “ART DOT” shapes a new identity for Ukrainians, and addresses issues of inclusion, media manipulation, and human rights.