Kateryna Markush

Kateryna Markush is a Ukrainian costume, stage and set designer, as well as a graphic designer. She said this about her residency:

“Due to the Artists at Risk residency program, I have had the great opportunity to collaborate with Nepco, an Amsterdam creative studio, located in the heart of the city and containing a whole world inside, full of art objects, shocking masks, kinetic costumes with build-in effects and metal frame constructions, giant headpieces, a great sense of humor in every little detail and celebration of life in every step they take.

I became part of a great team and, during the two months of my residence, I worked on costumes and objects using Ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer foam (EVA), cheap and super light material, perfect for implementing the craziest ideas! It was a new experience for me, but not for Nepco. They are the best at it and create a great number of objects using yoga mats! We started and finished two projects, made a performance at a local festival and developed an idea of a new theater project in collaboration with Dutch playwright Kat Kreeberg and Ukrainian theater director Yasha Gudzenko named ‘I hope, You are not from Ukraine!?’

Also, I made a series of sketches for my personal project ‘Transparent Targets’, researching the process of the Russian invasion in Ukraine and Ukrainian culture as one of the main targets of this invasion.

In Nepco, I received not only great everyday professional support, I also found understanding and empathy, filled with a strong positive energy. It helped me a lot as an artist to start creating again!”

Kateryna Markush is an ARTISTS at RISK (AR)-UNESCO Resident at Nepco (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) with the support of the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund and the UNESCO-Aschberg Programme for Artists and Cultural Professionals.