It the period between April 8 to April 14, the Roma Program of the International Renaissance Foundation hosted writers and painters at the literary and artistic residence “JointART” (Yaremche city). The project aimed to create a space for the joint creative process of writers and painters of the Ukrainian and Roman origin, as well as artists from other ethnic communities. The purpose of the project is to promote free self-reflection and self-presentation, gaining new knowledge and skills, and exchange of experience with other professionals. The organizers said that the project will result in a creation of an innovative, high-quality literary and artistic product: an illustrated anthology of small prose to manifest particular aspects of the Ukrainian and Roma identities, as well as their co-existence.
The project at the residence gathered 33 participants from eight regions of Ukraine, which during the week attended 15 lectures and master classes provided by well-known writers, painters, illustrators and designers. Together, they had more than 70 “hours of creativity”.
In particular, the project featured master classes conducted by a poetess, writer, literary critic Marianna Kyanovska, an iconographer Ostap Lozynsky, a journalist, author of the “Our Others” special project Olesya Yaremchuk (published in the online magazine The Ukrainians), an illustrator Violetta Borigard, a poet, scriptwriters Lyuba Yakymchuk, a graphic designer Yurko Barabash, a painter Yarema Stetsik, a journalist, writer, playwright Olexandr Gavrosh.
