The story behind
Roksana Smirnova is an accomplished, award-winning musician. She has collaborated with many renowned bands and musicians hailing from across the globe, touring extensively worldwide and participating in numerous festivals in Europe, the USA, and Asia. In her music Roksana combines the spontaneity of improvisation with a keen sense of form influenced by her background as a jazz and classical musician. Expanding borders by sensitively combining different musical genres and cultural influences, Roksana opens the door to new musical dimensions. Her music illustrates experimental explorations demonstrating her unique style and radiates her great artistic achievement. Over the last seven years together with guitarist Misha Kalinin they have been developing their duo, participating in numerous festivals, concerts and jam sessions. Their sound can be described as a combination of an acoustic piano and electric guitar with effects that create a unique genre with recognized influences of jazz and ethnic music. In May after the war in Ukraine started they had to relocate to the Netherlands. Currently, they travel around Europe, performing at festivals and concert venues, silent movie screenings and other music events.
Through their eyes
“We are really grateful for the support that we have received through the Ukrainian artists & creatives support program which helped us promote our music and organise concerts. Also we can keep working on our new album that we are planning to record in a few months. This album includes all the life changes that we are going through and combines all the European cultures as the symbol of unity that we can see in the world right now. Last month we played a few concerts in support of Ukraine in Germany and Switzerland. Thanks a lot to the MAX team.”
More about Roksana Smirnova
Albums
Album “Whispers” / Recorded in 2020, Udine, Italy.
Silent Film Performances
In Spring / Навесні. Director Mikhail Kaufman, USSR (Ukraine), 1929.
Electric nights / Les nuits electriciques. Directed by Eugene Deslav, France, 1929.
Etudes of movement / Études de mouvements. Directed by Joris Evans, France, Netherlands, 1927.
Bridge / De brug. Directed by Joris Evans, Netherlands, 1928.
A game of light reflections and speed / Jeux des reflets et de la vitesse. Directed by Henri Chaumette, France, 1925.
Berlin – The symphony of the big city / Berlin – Die Sinfonie der Großstadt. Directed by Walter Ruttmann, Germany, 1927.
Cosmopolitan London / Cosmopolitan London. Directed by Harry B. Parkinson, Frank Miller, UK 1920.
Manhattan / Manhattan. Directed by Charles Schiller, Paul Strand, USA, 1921.
About Nice / A Propos de Nice. Directed by Jean Vigo, Boris Kaufman, France, 1930.
Roksana Smirnova
Misha Kalinin
Instagram
Youtube
Solomiia Gorobiuk is an artist and sculptor actively involved in volunteering. MakersXchange Ukrainian Artists & Creatives Support Program gave her the opportunity to get art supplies for her upcoming projects.
The story behind
Solomiia is a sculptor from Ukraine. In March after the war started in Ukraine she had to leave for Poland, where she later started her master’s degree. She has participated in numerous collaborative and personal exhibitions, as well as art residencies in Ukraine and abroad. Currently she is working on illustrations and posters in support of Ukraine and is preparing two exhibitions during the upcoming months.
Through their eyes
“After the war started in Ukraine, I went to an artist residency in the city Gdansk, Poland, where I am currently living. The need for informational and financial support arose immediately. I sent applications for various programs, but the fastest response was from the Ukrainian artists & creatives support program by ECHN. The support from the program helped me to freely work creatively and purchase materials for further creative activities. In recent months, I have been applying to the Gdańsk Academy of Arts, and now I am a master’s student in the graphics department. My skills in digital graphics also helped me make an appropriate portfolio for this faculty since I radically changed the field of activity from monumental sculptures to graphics. This became necessary after a full-scale war because there was a problem with mobility and a lack of a relevant sculpture workshop. Now I am preparing for two exhibition projects, one of which will take place in Gdansk in December. The theme of the works of the last months is related to the war and volunteering.”
More about Solomiia Gorobiuk
Scholarships
2022 – now a six months scholarship, Laznia 2, Laznia Center for Contemporary Art, Gdansk, Poland.
2013 – a two months scholarship for artistic stone processing, practice processing a stone sculpture, Kaiserslautern, Germany.
Group Exhibitions
2022 – “Stand With Ukraine”, Madrid, Spain.
2022 – “Stand With Ukraine”, Offenbach, Germany.
2022 – “I can only talk about war / I can talk not only about war”, Laznia Center for Contemporary Art, Gdansk, Poland.
2015 – Participant of the exhibition “Touching, I See” Lviv, Ukraine.
2014 – XIII International Exhibition of Metal in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine.
2014 – International Exhibition “Autumn Salon “, Lviv, Ukraine.
2014 – Exhibition for the Blind “Touching, see” Portrait of Michael Boychuk, lviv, Ukraine.
2013 – XII International Exhibition of Metal, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine.
2012 – XI International Exhibition of Metal, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine.
2012 – exhibition contest “Honore de Balzac” organised of “Allians Frances”, Lviv, Ukraine.
2011 – presented exhibition in honour of renowned sculpture Immanuel Mys’ko, Lviv, Ukraine.
Residencies
2021 – residence in painting, Kvasy, Ukraine.
2016 –”FRANKO SCULPTURE SYMPOSIUM” symposium of modern monumental sculpture, Lviv, Ukraine.
2012 – Symposium “Seven Fine Pysanky” of stone monumental sculpture, Colomyja, Ukraine.
2010 – Stone Sculpture Symposium, village Lavriv, Monastery of St. Onufry, Ukraine.
Personal Projects
2021 – Created a monumental sculpture, Kahovka, Ukraine.
2019 – Created a two monumental sculpture “Hand”, installed Pidhirya, Ivano-Frankivsk region, Ukraine.
2019 – Created five monumental sculptures for the interior design of a nightclub “Split”, Lviv, Ukraine.
2013 – Created a sculpture set “Wheel of Fortune” installed in Lviv, Ukraine.
2009 – Created a Memorial Table “A thousand years since the Baptism of Ancient Rus”, installed in the city of Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine.
Key Takeaways
MAX (Makers’ eXchange) project is a pilot policy project, co-funded by the European Union, that aims to define and test policies and actions supporting the mobility and exchanges of experience between the cultural and creative industries, creative hubs, maker-spaces, fab-labs and formal and non-formal learning and skills development systems in a cross-sectoral way and embed makers’ mobility schemes for skills development and inclusion into mainstream CCIs support programmes, policies and ecosystems across Europe.
Name
Roksana Smirnova
Current location
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Professional field
Piano, music composition
