INTRODUCE YOURSELVES — MASHA AND KATRINA — WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT IS YOUR ORGANIZATION’S VISION?

United Kids Art (unitedkids.art) is the work of two dedicated Ukranian women. Masha Zolotova is the founder of UnitedKids.Art based in Vienna, Austria, where it initially began. Zolotova is also heading up the United Kids expansion in the UK where the largest number of Ukrainian refugees currently reside. Katrina Bila is based in Miami, Florida, having immigrated two years ago and is curating the United Kids Art project in the United States.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUNDS

MZ: Since early youth, I implemented various kinds of projects in Ukraine, in both Odessa and Kyiv. Given the availability of artistic academic education, the vector of these projects has always been relevant to arts and culture: from small creative studios for emerging artists to cinemas, production centers, and international festivals. Turning my own ideas into major projects, their maintenance and further development is my main task and duty as a producer, organizer, and author.

KB: I joined the project last summer with the intention of creating a powerful impetus to United Kids development in the United States. As an architect, I am employed by Stantec, one of the world’s leading architecture firms. But I am also an artist with a special love for painting all my life. Being an artist, I’ve participated in numerous art and design projects throughout the years, giving me wonderful opportunities to explore the world.

WHAT IS YOUR WORK PHILOSOPHY AND HOW DOES THAT IMPACT UNITEDKIDS.ART?

MZ: Our philosophy is simple and it is based on two fundamental values. Do what you love the most, while choosing a direction that will have a beneficial effect on the lives of other people. It was the desire to make small improvements in the lives of our Ukrainian children and help them cope with perhaps the most difficult period of their lives that became the impetus for creating United Kid Art.

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT HOW UNITEDKIDS.ART GOT STARTED.

MZ: The idea to create a charitable foundation for Ukrainian teenagers in Vienna came naturally. I had to move to Vienna at the end of February 2022due to the war. In the first weeks after the war started, I was engaged in the evacuation of Ukrainian families with children. A fleeting idea of ​​​​creating a small community in Vienna for newly arrived refugees turned into a global task to help teenagers cope with forced migration and the accompanying stress.

KB: And that is why we chose art as a tool for therapy. This is how the foundation, the abstract painting program for teenagers, and art as therapy began.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR CURRENT PROJECTS?

KB: We are making small but steady steps. We have a busy main studio hub in Vienna and are evolving an online school. We are currently looking for an opportunity to launch our studios and workshops in the US, aligning with established local artists. All to benefit the Ukrainian children.

HOW HAVE ARTISTS AND ART BEEN INVOLVED WITH THE ORGANIZATION?

MZ: In fact, art has a powerful therapeutic and healing effect. Earlier in Ukraine, we were engaged children’s development programs. It is only art that has this incomparable ability to calm and harmonize a person’s psychological state as a whole.  When the question arose of how to create a project that would help children cope with the consequences of the stress of war and moving, the decision for art and  painting to become the core tool was made at lightning speed.

WHAT IS THE BEST ADVICE YOU’VE RECEIVED?

KB: We can’t say that we quickly came to impressive results. In fact, the project developed slowly. There were several periods of a complete freeze. We revised our tasks and goals several times, and to tell the truth, we are still constantly making fresh updates to its concept because we want to achieve the greatest effect and affect as many cities and Ukrainian communities in them as possible.

MZ: Perhaps the best piece of advice was coming from our official adviser, Robin Anezin, whose quote was: “You’re doing a really good job, don’t give up, and the result will come.”  A simple truth that I repeatedly told myself when it seemed like nothing would come of our idea.  But Robin was right, wasn’t he?  So I consider this advice the best and gladly recommend it to others!

WHEN YOU ARE NOT WORKING, WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU?

MZ: The activity of the foundation is not the main activity for either of us. Even though I still produce various projects in Europe and the USA, I have to admit that for me personally, emotionally and psychologically, nothing compares to running our foundation.

KB: We are happy to have such a positive impact on the growing generation in general. We want to evolve our workshop techniques and collaborate with more professionals in the industry for a greater achievement of a bright future for our Ukrainian kids.

WHAT DOES PARTNERING WITH ARTEXPO NEW YORK 2023 AND REDWOOD ART GROUP MEAN TO YOU?

MZ: Getting to an exhibition of this level has been our number one goal since the day the foundation was founded. Of course, the exhibition of the children’s artworks is wonderful. The true joy comes from the hope and motivation the children will acquire when they find out that their paintings will be presented at such a level.

I do not want to make far-sighted forecasts, but I believe that the opportunity to create paintings from an early age and present them at international venues is a huge value. It can open completely different horizons in the life of our budding artists,  lead to completely different thought processes, set different goals, and as a result, affect the rest of your life.

About UnitedKids.Art

UnitedKids.Art is a community from Odessa, Ukraine, that create, organize, and implement different children’s development projects since 2009. Our Ukrainian base held more than 600 kids, and we had the opportunity to evacuate some of them to Austria after the war started. Today we are a charity foundation in the EU, supporting Ukrainian kids on a large scale.

Our focus goals are to create a safe international art community for Ukrainian kids, to help rebuild their life, and support new beginnings. Our long-term vision is to create a

safe creative platform that supports young Ukrainian artists all over the world, both online and offline. Additionally, we strive to develop creative therapies for Ukrainian children in need, as well as a safe environment for Ukrainian women in need.

See United Kids at Artexpo New York 2023, Booth #1 and more information at UnitedKids.Art

The post Uniting For Ukrainian Kids Through Their Art appeared first on Art Business News.

In my time in the field of art, I have encountered three typical prejudices: art comes out of nowhere at the whim of the artist, art is boring, and art is inaccessible. I emphasize that these are prejudices.

Anticipating these possible initial doubts about the worth of studying art, here are three short explanations:

1. Art is a language. It is an artistic language that can be spoken and understood. Art solves certain problems, not descends on the artist in the form of inspiration or creative impulse. First, the artist has an idea, then he translates it into the language of artistic images through technique, composition, choice of a particular art form, color, etc. To evaluate work in its entirety, it is necessary to understand how the internal (idea) is connected to the external (a work executed in some material).

For clarity, we can give an example from the history of art as it relates to the appearance of the Baroque style.

• The context: The 16th century. The Catholic Church had problems because of the Reformation.
• The task: To show the power and strength of the Catholic Church and its wealth. The task is clear. What is the solution?
• Artistic solution: A huge scale, dynamism, and impetuosity in composition and drawing, a riot of colors, the intensity of emotions and love of climaxes in the stories, the abundance of reliefs, carvings, and gold. Luxury in the flesh. Impressive? Of course, it is!

2. Art is available to everyone; the question is only the depth of perception.

• The first level is basic object recognition (for example, you see that the painting shows people in a room, one of them has wings, and there is a bouquet of white lilies in a vase).
• Second level – you can identify the plot, genre, or direction, that is, you can place this work among others.
• The third level is professional – you can put the work in context. You are at least at the first level of perception of art – that is, it is available to you, too.

3. Art is fun! The key is to turn learning into a game.

HOW TO STUDY ART WITH YOUR CHILD AT HOME?

First, decide what learning resources you have. The very minimum is the Internet, time, and great desire. Resources might also include art albums at home or from the library, children’s art history classes, and a nearby museum. Of course, it’s ideal if you can go to an art museum and see artworks live.

1. From what period or from which artists should you start your acquaintance with the world of art?

• Choose one direction or one artist. At first, stick to your choice so you don’t get confused.
• It’s best to start with classical art (pre-twentieth century). The post-impressionists are great. And start with figurative art (depicting the world around you in a recognizable way).

2. How to prepare for studying art with your child?

• Read at least a little about the era and the artist. Try to find a couple of interesting facts that will connect and remain in your child’s memory.

For example, in the world of art Alexander Benois collected a collection of children’s toys all his life and kept them scattered around the room so that the toys would be in their natural state.

• Try to find a picture of the artist, his studio, or him in the company of his friends – it’s easier for children to talk about a particular person. And that’s how artists are remembered better!
• Collect several reproductions of paintings that you look at with your child.

LET’S START STUDYING — SHALL WE PLAY ART?

1. Tell your child a little about the era (Were there telephones, airplanes, televisions back then? Were there huge stores? What did people use to get around? Where did they live?) You can draw on your own knowledge. You can begin your stories about artists of the early 20th century with the words: “In a time when there were no TVs, smartphones, tablets, and chewing gum when the first cars appeared and light bulbs were a rarity, there lived an artist…”. For a child, this artist has become almost an epic character — and with stories, it’s always interesting!
2. Show your child a picture of the artist, his studio, or his friends. Discuss the artist’s appearance (Do people dress like this now? What kind of character do you think he had?). Ask the child a question so that he can reincarnate as the artist for a moment (Show the gait of this artist. How did he show off in front of the mirror wearing that hat? What was the artist’s voice like?)
3. After that, it’s time to get acquainted with the works.

THE BASIC PRINCIPLE

We start the discussion with what was done, then how it was done, and in the end, we try to understand why it was done this way. That is, through simple analysis, we try to guess how the artist’s idea is related to specific techniques.

A SAMPLE OUTLINE FOR DISCUSSING THE WORK

WHAT:

• What do you see? (e.g., people, things, nature, etc.)
• What’s going on? (e.g., people running, eating, etc.)
• Have you seen other similar works? (e.g., have you seen other still lifes). Ask additional questions for the child to fantasize about the theme of the piece. For example, such as: What happened before or after the event depicted in the painting? Whose breakfast is this? Whose room is this? Where is that in nature?

HOW (about the artist’s technique):

• Nice/ugly
• Similar / not similar
• Calm or dynamic
• What lines (straight, sharp, elastic, etc.)
• Are there many different colors?
• Are the smears visible?
• Painting with deep space or does it seem flat?
• What is the mood in the picture? (gloomy, sublime, joyful, etc.)

Finally, let’s move on to dessert! It’s time to play art and remember what we’ve seen.

EXAMPLES OF ART GAMES

1. Mosaic

Print the artwork and cut it into squares. Mix them up. You need to assemble a picture on the principle of an ordinary mosaic. You can race against each other.

2. Guessing game

Print out 8-10 pictures of works of art and write an art dictation. Show the child the picture for 3-5 seconds. He must write the name of the work. You can have a competition among the children. Whoever gives the most correct answers wins.

3. Drawing from Memory

This task can be turned into a competition for children. Show a picture for about 10 seconds. Hide it. Discuss who remembered what. Everyone tries to draw the composition of the picture from memory. Whoever remembers the most, whoever has the most similarities, wins.

4. Reincarnations

Ask a child to repeat the poses of the characters.

How and what do the characters talk about?

What is the gait of the characters?

Author’s bio: Jean Hartley is an essay writer for several educational services. She has extensive experience in professional assistance and paper writing. Jean loves teaching children and is happy to share one of her favorite topics.

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