Invasion: Art for Ukraine

Before the war, AZA NIZI MAZA, a creative space founded in 2012 by Mykola Kolomiyets, combined work in several areas, such as:

• art studio in painting, graphics and sculpture for children and adults;
• inclusive space – a group of artists with Down syndrome worked in the studio;
• lectures – lectures on art were held;
• book project – the studio conducted projects to create books on contemporary art;
• exhibition activity – the studio organized more than 60 exhibitions at the best exhibition grounds of Ukraine.

Before the war, AZA NIZI MAZA, a creative space founded in 2012 by Mykola Kolomiyets, combined work in several areas, such as:

The main direction was studio activity. Teachers have developed an approach aimed at realizing the potential of individual aspects of each student. The classes not only taught techniques, but also introduced students to the modern context of art, told the history of art in practice, showing how artists of different eras solved similar problems. The learning process was aimed at developing imagination and trying to lead students to their own path and style. The studio used a variety of painting techniques, graphics and sculptures.

The title “AZA NIZI MAZA” refers to Federico Fellini’s cult film “8”. Film director Guido Anselmi (played by Marcello Mastroianni), who is in a deep creative crisis, recalls his childhood – a little boy sincerely believes that he will know where to find the treasure as soon as he says the spell: “AZA NIZI MAZA”.

There were about a hundred students in the studio. On the eve of the war we had a big book project – A Guide to the History of Contemporary Art “Closer Than It Seems”, in which we talked about contemporary art in terms of its game component. Each artist had his own game and rules. There was a pop project with Lesya Ukrainka, where we tried to introduce Lesya Ukrainka as an icon of contemporary Ukrainian art style. We were preparing for the exhibition on the 300th anniversary of Hryhoriy Skovoroda. Exhibition-journey, exhibition-map. And we were doing a book project for the centenary of the Berezil Theater.

From the first day of the war, the AZA NIZI MAZA studio became a bomb shelter and a transfer point through which many people had already passed. Creative projects are also ongoing. The current is a poster diary “WHAT I SEE”, in which the works of children who are students of the studio are considered in the context of wartime. This project has received a lot of interest in Ukraine and abroad. We haven’t been in the studio since the beginning of the war. But from March 29 to early May, we held them almost every day at the Kharkiv metro station “Historical Museum”. In the process of getting acquainted and joint creative communication with the children living there, they invented a project about new superheroes of today. These are four monumental figures, 3.5 meters high – Warrior, Mother with Children, Doctor and Volunteer. Then we added 8 more artworks of the same size. They reflect children’s impressions of military events. In June, we resumed classes in the studio for a small group of children. We also launched online classes three times a week, as well as online lectures for children and adults.