Self-organized art and cultural initiatives in western Austria

A recently established but already very active in initiative is the Ukraine-Tyrol Cultural Platform. It was founded in Innsbruck at the end of 2022 by Polina Zavhorodniaia and Tatiana Ataiants. Both moved to Austria several years ago, Polina studies political science at the University of Innsbruck, and Tatiana moved from Odesa to Innsbruck a year before the large-scale invasion because of her husband's work. Since then, the two have been unable to return to Ukraine due to the warfare near their hometown.

According to Polina and Tatiana, Ukrainians who settled in Tyrol since February 2022 due to the war received financial, legal, and medical support from the government, but they lacked basic knowledge about how things work in Austria and a sense of community, which is why many suffer from homesickness.

“As people who have already experienced all the challenges of arriving in a new country, we could well imagine the problems that Ukrainians who fled in 2022 would face,” explains Polina, one of the platform's co-founders. "Anyone who has ever made the decision to emigrate knows how difficult it is. But imagine how hard it is when everything is turned upside down from one second to the next and you have no choice but to build a new life in a completely different place.

With these thoughts in mind, we decided to establish the Ukraine-Tyrol cultural platform to help people build fulfilling lives here. We wanted to build bridges between Ukrainians and Austrians in various areas of life. When people understand their surroundings better, speak the language, learn to be creative, simply have fun, and meet other people, their lives will improve.

Once a week, the platform organizes meetings at the cultural center Die Bäckerei – Kulturbackstube in Innsbruck. The format of the meetings is diverse: conversation clubs, art workshops, game nights, meetings with local organizations, discussion groups, film screenings, and much more. Their idea was more than successful: places are often booked up weeks in advance.

“Of course,” Polina continues, "our main goal is to help people cope with change and lead fulfilling lives. But behind this simple idea lie deeper considerations. Our events are tailored to different areas of life and needs. We have language clubs that help Ukrainians learn the language and meet German speakers, and we organize various art workshops and master classes. Our psychological workshops and art therapy offerings help people understand and feel themselves. We also hold discussion groups and Q&A sessions with locals and organizations to give newcomers an understanding of society and show them how they can build a life here, who they can turn to, and where they can seek help. We also want to have fun together and organize game nights and discussion groups. The platform is actually successful. This means that people need it and find it helpful, which makes us incredibly happy and motivates us to continue and further develop our project." To date, the Ukraine-Tyrol cultural platform has organized around twenty meetings with over a hundred participants.

Shortly after founding her initiative, Polina contacted Office Ukraine Innsbruck. As a result, several Ukrainian artists who are registered in the Office Ukraine database and currently live in western Austria were invited by the Ukraine-Tyrol cultural platform to hold art workshops for the Ukrainian community. These workshops give Ukrainians the opportunity to be creative in a relaxed atmosphere, meet new people, and learn artistic skills. The artistic workshops were so successful that some artists are now considering organizing their own regular workshop series and becoming self-employed in Austria.

One of them is Angelina Danko, who teaches watercolor painting: "I realized that we Ukrainians need more inspiration these days; something that can cheer us up and give us strength. Drawing has always been such a source of strength for me. By a lucky coincidence, I heard about Office Ukraine and got to know Polina and the cultural platform. Holding free courses is an opportunity for me to make a difference in this world. When I held my first watercolor course, I realized that people need a warm and open-minded community where they can be creative.

I decided to continue and start my own creative initiative to facilitate more meetings. That's how “Creative Events Tirol” came about. I have already held my own course and plan to organize more events. I am currently working on becoming self-employed in Austria. I dream of having my own studio here in Innsbruck, where we can hold regular courses."

Three Ukrainian artists have also organized a series of painting workshops in Vorarlberg. Maryna Liapina, Svitlana Vardanian, and Zugairat Novikova received project funding as part of the BMKÖS special Ukraine aid program to hold a series of painting workshops for Ukrainian women at vogelfreiRAUM in Rankweil.

“We all paint in different ways,” say the artists, "and have different experiences and different professions. What we have in common is a passion for creativity. So we decided to offer drawing and painting workshops together. Every Monday from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., we enjoy the cozy atmosphere at vogelfreiRAUM with a paintbrush in our hands."

Although the three women only met last year in Austria, they are currently considering opening their own group studio in Kyiv, where they plan to hold workshops. A series of exhibitions is also planned for the future, one of which is already in the works. Both Ukrainians and Austrians are invited to the upcoming workshops, so that people from different countries who happen to live in the same place due to circumstances can form friendships. Communication should not be a problem: “In the courses, we can communicate in English, and if that is not possible, we simply speak the language of art.”