Ten Ukrainian Creatives We Admire

Ten Ukrainian Creatives We Admire

Oleg Sensov – Filmmaker, writer, activist

Oleg Sentsov is a Ukrainian filmmaker, writer and activist. Born in Crimea, Sentsov’s protest of Russia’s occupation of Ukraine led to his kidnapping, arrest and criminal trial. He has been imprisoned in Russia since 2016. Life Went On Anyway is among his best known books, reflecting on his life in a series of short autobiographical stories.

Valery Veduta – Photographer

Valery Veduta is a Kyiv-based contemporary photographer, shooting on film in a documentary and fine art style.

His photobook, Gray Contour, features a series of landscapes that were shot in 2017 – 2019 in The Arabat Spit, located between the Henichesk Strait to the north and the north-eastern shores of Crimea to the south.

Most recently Veduta has been documenting his family’s journey during the war. Starting with their move to the parking garage of an apartment building, and now as they flee to Lviv, Veduta’s candid and heartfelt imagery shows in real time what life under Putin’s attack.

Artem Trigubchak + Lera Brumina – Interior designers 

Ukraine’s combination of Soviet history and modern democracy have borne a generation of interior designers with a style all their own.

Artem Trigubchak + Lera Brumina are Kyiv-based interior designers and frequent collaborators. They say they “are endlessly inspired and love the architecture of the Soviet period, and we really wanted to create a comfortable working space without violating the architectural context”.

Artem Trigubchak’s work focuses on maintaining open spaces and draws on Soviet influences.

Lera Brumina oversees commercial and residential projects, utilizing clean lines, colour, and industrial materials.

DakhaBrakha – Musicians

DakhaBrakha is a Ukrainian folk music quartet that draws its influences from across Eastern Europe.

Originating in Kyiv, their unique sound infuses traditional Ukrainian music with elements of other cultures, including instruments from India, Australia, and the Middle East. In 2021, they were awarded the Shevchenko National Prize, Ukraine’s highest award for culture and arts.

Svetlana Bevsa – Fashion designer

Svetlana Bevza is the Kyiv-based founder and designer behind Bevza, where she has made a name for herself as a trailblazing sustainable designer whose clothes double as “love letters to the earth”.

Elegant knitwear crafted from recycled plastic bottles and updated classics like trench coats in a signature nubby rib knit have made Bevza a sought after brand, praised by the likes of Vogue.

Volo Bevza – Visual artist 

Volo Bevza is a Kyiv-born, Berlin-based visual artist. Their paintings contrast sharp geometric figures against abstract backgrounds, all illuminated by Bevza’s masterful use of colour.

Olia Hercules – Chef + Food Writer

Olia Hercules is a Ukrainian born, London-based chef whose recipes and food writing have won her a dedicated following and praise from the likes of Nigella Lawson. Her recipes offer personal stories to go along with classic dishes, such as Mamushka: Recipes from Ukraine and Eastern Europe, her most famous cookbook.

With family fighting on the frontlines in the current war, Hercules recently established a fund to deliver protective equipment to those fighting on Ukraine’s front lines, including her brother.

Maria Prymanchenko – Visual Artist

Maria Prymanchenko (1907 – 1977) was a Ukrainian folk artist whose work transcended paintings, embroidery, and ceramics.

Her pieces portrayed colourful portrayals of flowers and animals. From a young age, her work was inspired by ideas of peace and later met international acclaim.

2009 was named the year of Maria Prymanchenko in Ukraine and even Picasso once said “I bow down before the artistic miracle of this brilliant Ukrainian.”

25 of her paintings are known to have been destroyed in a Russian invasion that burned down the Ivankiv Museum in Kyiv. You can explore her art here.