AR-Artist Bios
AR-Safe Haven Helsinki Resident Pavel Semchenko
Pavel Olegovich Semchenko (1967) is a Russian performance and visual artist, set designer and theatre director who is an AR-alumnus. Semchenko escaped to Finland with Anisiia Kronidova, actress, AR-Resident and Semchenko’s wife, following the Russian government’s crackdown on dissidents who … Continue reading
AR-Saastamoinen Grant Recipient at Saastamoinen Foundation Anastasiia Pustovarova
Anastasiia Pustovarova (b. 1990) is a Ukrainian visual artist and illustrator, currently living in Helsinki, Finland. She was born and raised in Cherkasy, the cultural center of Cherkasy Oblast and Central Economical Region of Ukraine. In 2017, she graduated from … Continue reading
AR-Safe Haven Helsinki Resident Marina Kramarenko
Marina Kramarenko is a Ukrainian jazz musician, composer, pianist, piano teacher and accompanist currently an AR-Resident in Helsinki. Kramarenko graduated from the R. Glier Kyiv Institute of Music in 1999 with a specialization in Jazz and Piano. She also received … Continue reading
AR-Safe Haven Helsinki Resident Aleksey Yudnikov
Aleksey Yudnikov (1973, Kyiv) is a Ukranian-born theatre and film actor, director and screenwriter, currently living in exile in Helsinki. Yudnikov graduated from the Russian Academy of Theater Arts (RATI-GITIS) in Moscow. Over the course of his professional career, he … Continue reading
AR-Resident Uladzimir Ushakou
Uladzimir Ushakou (Vladimir Ushakov) is a Belarussian art director and founder of the Modern Art Theater in Minsk. Born in 1963 in Tomsk, Russia, his family moved frequently due to his father’s obligations as part of the military. As a … Continue reading
AR-Resident Maksim Shved
Maksim Shved is a filmmaker, photographer and journalist from Belarus. Born in the capital, Minsk in 1979, Maksim graduated from the Belorussian State University’s department of Law and Politics in 2002. He started film studies in 2013 at St Petersburg … Continue reading
AR-Resident Nabila Halim
Nabila Halim is a mixed media artist, born in 1989 in Morocco. At present, she lives and works in Marseille, France. Nabila moved to France for her studies and graduated from the National Superior Art and Design School in Marseille … Continue reading
AR-Resident Prisoner: Maria “Masha” Alekhina
Maria “Masha” Alekhina is a Russian artist, writer, political activist and founding member of the famed punk band Pussy Riot. Masha was imprisoned for two years in response to Pussy Riot’s 2012 ‘punk prayer’, Virgin Mary, banish Putin and recognized … Continue reading
AR-Resident Roma Durov
Roma Durov, otherwise known as 9cyka, is a visual artist. Durov works closely with Pussy Riot, having designed clothes for and produced paintings with the group. In 2021, Durov was caught up in the wider, ongoing crackdown against the punk-feminist … Continue reading
AR-Resident Veronika (Nika) Nikulshina
Veronika “Nika” Nikulshina is a multidisciplinary artist and human rights defender from Russia. She is known for her work as a performance artist and as a prominent member of Pussy Riot. Her work with the punk feminist group has made … Continue reading