Anastasiia Piatakova

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Anastasiia Piatakova wrote this recently:

“I am an 18-year-old war refugee living in Scotland. I am an orphan and was taking care of myself, and I don’t want to be a victim and pretend that everyone owes me. I have decided to take control of my life. I used to live in Kherson. My first exhibition was at the age of 16, then I attended the festival “Mycelium” at 17, and my last exhibition was at the Regional Library for Children in February 2022. Then the war started. 

I arrived in the UK at the end of June 2022. All my work arrived with me. In April 2022, I hitch-hiked from Kherson to Lviv, took a bus to Warsaw and arrived by plane to the UK. On the way, I stayed at four different refugee camps. Now I am living and working in Glasgow. At first I lived in a sponsor’s flat; a sponsor in the UK is a mediator between the government and the refugee. Finally, I was in contact with Aga Paulina Mtynczak — the director of the 16 Nicholson Street Gallery in Glasgow, who put me in contact with Artists at Risk, and luckily I was honored to be offered a living grant, which gives me the tools to keep creating. 

In my work, I want to address stereotypes about refugees and migrants. I am already teaming up with artists from Ukraine to set a good example for the British. Sometimes, I sell my prints at locker rooms for employees or to artists at some festival, or just randomly to new acquaintances. All the money goes to Ukraine! At the moment, with the AR support, I am involved in 3 festivals and my own solo exhibition. I am so grateful, and I believe that all people must be united, connected, friendly and strong.”

Anastasia Piatakova is an ARTISTS at RISK (AR)-UNESCO Resident at 16 Nicholson Street Gallery & Arts Collective, Glasgow, Scotland, with the support of the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund and the UNESCO-Aschberg Programme for Artists and Cultural Professionals.