From February 22 to March 6, more than 10,000 visitors (including the First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska) visited the Create! exhibition hall set up by “Cultural Platform Zakarpattya” NGO in the Ukrainian House.
The very heart of the Create! hall exhibited the unstoppable creative force of teenagers and adolescents as well as their feelings of self-worth, open-mindedness, and readiness to embrace innovation.
Our goal as a civil society organization that has been in constant co-creation with the children and youth all over Ukraine (from Zakarpattya to Kharkiv regions) over the last 2 years was to recognize and showcase the talent of each and every one of them. We wanted to let the young generation see the endless pool of possibilities that the creative economy may offer.
Together with them, for 15 months straight, we have been learning to forge community, listen to our inner voices, search for our identity, collaborate, and become more resilient. All that resulted in creative products made in collaboration between teens and youngsters from more than 50 Ukrainian communities and the mentors of our creative practices. The exhibition of the Create! hall was comprised of new cultural artifacts made by the Ukrainian youth as antifragility symbols in times of great uncertainty. “Cultural Platform Zakarpattya” NGO acted as a methodologist behind the many artistic practices focusing on mental support and social cohesion.
photos: Sasha Samusevych, Anton Kulakovskij, Tetyana Bulgakova
video: Yevhenii Kuponosov
Ilona Cherniavska, Yana Polupanova
You can find more photos from the “Atelier of Dreams” exhibition in the Ukrainian House on Instagram at @culturna.platforma & @young.cultura