The British Council’s programme of artistic residencies SWAP: UK/Ukraine 2019 announces selected participants from Ukraine and the UK. Three Ukraine-based artists and a curator will spend 45 days in the most innovative art institutions in Scotland, while seven UK-based artists will be discovering Ukrainian cultural landscape in collaboration with cultural institutions in Kharkiv, Odesa, Lviv, and Dnipro.
Ukraine-based artists
Yevgen Nikiforov (b. 1986, Vasylkiv, Ukraine) is an artist based in Kyiv, Ukraine. Started professional photography practice in 2005. Since 2013 has been working on independent documentary projects. Current projects: “Ukrainian Soviet Mosaics” (2013-2019) and “On Republic’s Monuments” (2014-1019). The main idea behind his photography practice is to capture the essence of the place in its transition through time and shifts influenced by economic, social or natural forces. The key subject of Nikiforov’s research is the urban environment as a main “battlefield” of ideological clashes, the city as a “map” of invisible tensions existing in society (-es). One of the major topics of his work for almost 4 years is the Soviet cultural heritage and architecture objects left in towns all around Ukraine and the controversial attitude towards it today. Yevgen will spend the residency in Scotland at Hospitalfield and Glasgow Sculpture Studios during September-October 2019.
Oleksandra Kadzevych (b.1991, Odesa, Ukraine) is an artist based in Odesa, Ukraine. In 2011 she graduated from the Painting Department of the Grekov Art College in Odesa and in 2018 she completed the "Artist" сourse at the Kyiv Academy of Media Arts. Her work is focused and developed around objects and sculptures into which she integrates the language of painting, collage, drawing and installation using various materials – newspaper cutouts, tissue, cardboard, wood, etc. In her artistic practice, she registers small reality errors, barely noticeable errors of logic, fluctuations and other “instabilities” that constructs the visible world around through which the ripple of real-life breaks. At the same time, she is exploring the field of historical memory, its transformation and the facets of perception. Oleksandra will spend the residency in Scotland at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop and Pier Arts Centre during September-October 2019.
Taras Kovach (b. 1982, Uzhhorod, Ukraine) is based in Kyiv, Ukraine. He graduated from the department of Graphic Arts at the National Academy of Arts and Architecture in Kyiv. Kovach is a graphic artist, author of objects and installations. Working with graphics, he rethinks and conceptualizes traditional printing methods, trying to demystify them. As an artist, he is interested in the theme of everyday life and the urban landscape. Studying the everyday environment, he rethinks the concept of centre and periphery. Taras will spend the residency in Scotland at Scottish Sculpture Workshop and Dundee Contemporary Arts centre during September-October 2019.
Ukrainian curator in residency
Anastasiia Khlestova (b. 1989, Luhansk) is a curator based in Kharkiv. She received a master’s degree in Art History at the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Art. Anastasiia is working with the topics of art process and the place of a young artist in the structure of contemporary art process. Her focus is the modes of functioning of artist-run spaces, local artistic institutional history, as well as young artists and their personal stories. Anastasiia will spend the residency in Scotland at Cove Park during September-October 2019.
UK-based artists
Jocelyn McGregor (b. 1989, Boston, UK) is a sculptor based in Cumbria, UK. She graduated with a BFA in Fine Art from the Ruskin School of Fine Art, Oxford University; and an MFA in Sculpture from the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL. Using her own body as a starting point, Jocelyn seeks the point of transition between internal and external, organic and manufactured, real and imagined worlds. By reconfiguring domestic and industrial materials, she blurs the boundaries between the natural world and the manufactured one to create a super-natural hybrid of the two. Jocelyn will spend the residency in Kharkiv at Yermilovcentre during September-October 2019.
Manca Bajec (b. 1982, Ljubljana, Slovenia) is an artist, writer and researcher based between London, UK and Ljubljana, Slovenia. Manca received a Practice-led PhD from the Royal College of Art, London, an MA in Sculpture from the Academy of Fine Art and Design, a Master of Arts in Curating from the University of the Arts, London and a BA in Visual Arts and Disciplines of Performance from the Academy of Fine Art, Venice. Her interdisciplinary work concerns and creates a specific language through observation of national histories and memories, politics, space and society. It is inspired by her work as a stage designer and curator and is particularly concerned with analytically positioning work within a space and building environments and atmospheres. Manca will spend the residency in Kharkiv at Yermilovcentre during September-October 2019.
Alishia Farnan (b.1992, Glasgow, Scotland) is an artist who lives and works in Glasgow, Scotland. She graduated with a BA in Fine Art Photography from The Glasgow School of Art. Her work engages with social architecture and its place in society. Using photography, she examines social history and her practice is rooted in a sense of legacy, place and culture. She is the co-founder of Peach Estate, a platform for showcasing photographic talent from around the world. Alishia will spend the residency in Dnipro at ArtSvit Gallery, Kultura Medialna and DCCC during September-October 2019.
Catherine Losing (b. 1985, Doncaster, UK) is a photographer and director based in London. Catherine received a BA (hons) in Photography at Nottingham Trent University, UK. Her work is largely based in still life. Using objects and studio photography to convey concepts, narratives and recreate memories in purpose-built environments. Catherine will spend the residency in Odesa at Museum of Odesa Modern Art during October 2019.
Robbie Coleman (b.1960, Kelowna, Canada) and Jo Hodges (b.1962, Ipswich, UK) have a shared multidisciplinary public arts practice. Their context led work investigates ecological and socio-cultural systems, processes and relationships, and explores new ways of working in public. They are interested in research, experimentation and collaboration and exploring how art can contribute to new thinking around social and ecological change. Duet’s practice takes a range of forms; research, socially engaged and participatory projects and processes, permanent and temporary works and site-specific installations. Robbie and Jo will spend the residency in Lviv at Jam Factory Art Center during October-November 2019.
Loreal Prystaj (b. 1990, New York, USA) is a visual artist based in London, UK, recently graduating with an MA in Photography from the Royal College of Art. Her work presently focuses on the subconscious and inherited psyche. By performing as or ‘playing’ in cultural motifs – narratively or decoratively – Prystaj transforms once familiar spaces into mise en scène that highlights the connection between the physical environment and the internal states past and present. She expresses these ideas through photography, collecting, installation, and sculptural interpretation. Loreal will spend the residency in Lviv at Lviv Centre for Urban Histories during October-November 2019.