Crafts as a Form of Resilience

Vision of the project

After the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, among the displaced population were many creatives who found their new homes in other European countries, while others stayed in Ukraine and continued their creative work despite all odds. On the other hand, some had been obliged to completely abandon their artistic practice and seek other opportunities. Starting from scratch, reinventing oneself, and rebuilding a practice in a foreign country or adapting to the new reality at home certainly required significant resources, a deep understanding of new contexts, as well as creating new connections and building trust.

Through this project, we targeted Ukrainian creatives who worked with any type of craft in their home country or across Europe, as well as those who had to abandon their practice due to the war. We wanted to make those individuals and collectives more visible and further empower them in building their small businesses and creative practices while gaining important connections and recognition at the European level.

The aim was to create new support systems and, in collaboration with our existing community and partners, offer a wide range of opportunities based on the needs of creators, consisting of:

• Online capacity building (individual and/or collective mentorship)
• Creator-in-residence in Split, Croatia
• Production support and upskilling support provided to a Ukrainian community of weavers preserving textile craft techniques and traditions
• Opportunity to showcase work at the Crafts as a Form of Resilience Fair in Matera, Italy

This initiative ensured that Ukrainian creatives received the necessary support to rebuild and sustain their artistic practices despite the challenges posed by war.

Meet the Key Partner

Creative Hub Croatia (CHC) is a non-profit organisation using education, culture and creativity for development of local communities through transmission of knowledge and European expertise and through promotion of art practices. CHC is active in the fields of cultural heritage, visual arts, performing arts and interdisciplinary cultural-artistic activities. All their projects and initiatives are based on partnerships. Their mission is to create and nurture a space for common dialogue and exchange of ideas among motivated, creative individuals who want to make a difference in their community by implementing innovative interdisciplinary projects. CHC, as a platform, acts as facilitators in making those ideas come true through mentorship, networking, partnerships and collaborations at the national and international levels. Through the partner projects they address topics such as social inclusion and intercultural dialogue and promote education, culture and creativity as tools for development.

Start Date: June 14, 2024
End Date: March 13, 2025