‘Ukrainian Woman’: an international project co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Commission
Ukrainian Woman, is a Creative Europe project that brings together Ukrainian and five EU and EEA-based culture, art, digital creation and impact organisations. They committed to supporting Ukraine by using culture and creative tools to discuss, explore, and present various war-related narratives and demonstrate resilience and strength through the lens of and with the focus on Ukrainian women. While, on the one hand, the project is a call to action to build a sense of human and artistic solidarity with suffering fellow neighbors, it also aims at equipping them with the necessary skills and opportunities to take their professional creative future into their own hands. The project will engage Ukrainian women to portray themselves through various cultural domains, such as visual and performing arts. Non-Ukrainian female artists will also be invited to participate by providing their artistic lens on the topic of a Ukrainian woman. While placing Ukrainian women in the spotlight, the project ultimately asks questions, provokes reflection and calls to action on a European scale on topics of gender equality, family, cultural heritage and identity, international relations and many more.
Approach of the ‘Ukrainian Woman’
The project addresses the pressing need to support and cooperate with Ukraine to develop and contribute to co-creating artistic innovations and cultural cooperation focused on Ukraine’s rebuilding and a new revival of European integration. In the framework of the Ukrainian Woman project, we intend to upscale the skills of participating women artists and support partners, internationalize artistic cooperation and integrate new tools and methods focused on impact-driven digital innovation supporting artists. Support of international partners will initiate a mutual learning process, organizing mass scale online exhibitions and events. The engagement of female artists, including emerging artists from Ukraine and other European countries, will pave the way for their meaningful contribution toward accelerating high-class artistic cooperation.
Expected results
Creating the Ukrainian Women Cultural Cooperation Community will contribute to project institutionalization to ensure long-term impact. Ukrainian Woman will significantly impact Ukraine’s ability to support impact-driven policies in Central and Eastern Europe. Exchanges, short-term visits, mass-scale events, and capacity-building measures, including summer schools, will contribute to artistic excellence in developing impactful projects. The creation of the community of artists will be closely linked with the practice and engagement of a broader perspective of Ukrainian female artists. Overall, Ukrainian Woman will reach more than 100,000 people as visitors, at least 50,000 as dissemination audiences, involve 900 female artists, produce 12 mass events, 10 exhibitions and 8 presentations, bringing together 300 people to its final conference in Cracow in the first ever European project of this kind.
Official project inauguration
The project started on 1st of November 2024, but the official kick-off meeting took place in Krakow on 10-11 February 2025. The meeting was attended by the Coordinator Institute of Public Diplomacy and five project Partner representatives: Connecting Talents, The Impact Lab, The Critical, European Centre for Women and Technology, and Galicia Jewish Museum. The latter was the host of the meeting. The official opening of the project included the introductory plenary session held in a hybrid format with opening statements from the Project Officer of the European Education and Culture Executive Agency, Ms Gemma Pissera, and the Head of the Creative Desk Ukraine, Mr Mykola Ulianov. Following the official opening statements, partner presentations were delivered to provide essential background information supporting the U-Woman project.
Besides the official part, a special cultural program for all participants featured the involvement of museum staff and talented Ukrainian women artists, aligning closely with the core mission of the Ukrainian Woman project. The highlights include a captivating performance presented by professional artists who, through a blend of artistic expression, storytelling, and music, conveyed powerful narratives that resonated with the themes of identity, resilience, and cultural heritage. Furthermore, Ms. Aia Kora, an artist from Vinnytsia and a member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine, showcased her work and delivered a touching testimony about her path as a thriving artist whose career was disturbed by the outbreak of war. Her art, born from loss, especially the beautiful painting titled “Prayer”, gives voice to displaced women and embodies resilience, femininity, and the power of memory. a presentation by Viktoria Mudrytska, a former researcher at the Chernihiv Historical Museum who found professional opportunities at the Galicia Jewish Museum after being displaced. With her expertise in Jewish history and the Holocaust, Viktoria has significantly contributed to the museum’s educational programs and exhibitions. Her story highlights the importance of supporting displaced Ukrainian museum professionals and preserving historical narratives. The artistic performances and presentations were a powerful reminder of the importance of the Ukrainian Woman project and its target impact.
‘Ukrainian Woman’ consortium
The “Ukrainian Woman” Project consortium brings together seven institutions, implementing the project through a collaborative and complementary approach, leveraging the expertise and strengths of each participating institution. The seven institutions, namely the Institute of Public Diplomacy (IPD), Connecting Talents (CTA), The Critical (THC), European Centre For Women And Technology (ECWT), The Impact Lab sarl (TIL), Creative Forces Of Ukraine (CFU), and Foundation Galicia Jewish Heritage Institute (GJHI), will work together synergistically to address the societal, economic, and political needs arising from the consequences of the Russia´s war on the Ukraine and in the realm of culture, art and creativity.
Each institution brings specific skills and capabilities to the consortium: Institute of Public Diplomacy (IPD), which has experience in leading and managing culture projects and big-scale cultural events fostering collaboration and contributing to the success of the Ukrainian Woman project; Connecting Talents (CTA), which concentrates on the creation of new project teams between people that do not know each other but receive a complete talent profile; The Critical (THC), a creative organisation driven by a focus on mass-scale collaboration in design thinking; the European Centre For Women and Technology (ECWT) endorsed by the European e-Skills Association as the leading platform for women in Digital Transformation; The Impact Lab sarl (TIL) an SME specialised in impact measurement, especially in the cultural and creative sectors, the Creative Forces Of Ukraine (CFU), experts in various creative fields and research and Foundation Galicia Jewish Heritage Institute (GJHI) is a culturally experienced organisation focused on intercultural dialogue in Ukraine, Poland, and Central and Eastern Europe.
Ukrainian Woman is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.
Photo by Lera Yuryn (via Pexels).
Sources: Ukrainian Woman project Deliverable 1.1 Kick-off meeting report; project Grant Agreement and The Impact Lab website.
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