Nadiia Pastushenko

Nadiia Pastushenko is a Ukranian designer and painter. She wrote this about her experiences:

“I, Pastushenko Nadezhda, a member of the Isla De Crear residency in Andalusia, thank the Artists at Risk organization and UNESCO for this chance to be among creative people, for the opportunity to create and meet other artists and writers. I also thank Natalya Kravchuk for helping me organize this trip, for finding and choosing a residency, and for this valuable opportunity to receive a grant.

I arrived at Isla De Crear on September 15th. Alex and Sebastian – the owners of the residence – are very hospitable, pleasant and helpful guys. I was very well received and a cozy room was already waiting for me. The residence is located in a very picturesque place and the abundance around the olive groves immediately sets you up for creativity. The residence building has very non-standard interiors, and this immediately raises creativity and the number of different creative ideas just rolls over you. In addition to the living rooms, the residence has many specialized rooms and creative workshops. So, in the painting room there are various creative tools and materials, which allowed me to try new painting and drawing techniques in my work.  As a result, new paintings appeared in my portfolio of works (until then only graphics) – watercolors and pastels, as well as graphic drawings in a new sketch technique. The sewing workshop also has all the necessary materials and tools: there is a sewing machine for anyone who wants to try their hand at sewing. During my stay at the residence, soft toys that I sewed began to appear. The residence also has a music room and a photography workshop.  Therefore, Isla De Crear is an amazing creative and inspiring place for creative people of different directions.

Separately, it is worth mentioning the stylish and unusual interiors of the residence. Everything is decorated with great taste, with a lot of interesting, exclusive details. For me, as an interior designer, being in such a beautiful and aesthetic place was a great pleasure, where I also gained an interesting new design experience.

Alex and Sebastian are very attentive and caring hosts. Any problem was solved very quickly.  And thanks to their help, all residents were periodically able to travel outside the residence. We were able to visit the nearest towns of Ubeda and Baeza and, using local buses, other nearby cities of Andalusia. For me, this trip turned out to be a happy chance that gave me the opportunity to create in such a difficult period. I will always remember these two amazing months spent in Andalusia among the sea of ​​olive trees and in a circle of creative, talented people. I sincerely thank Artists at Risk, which was represented by Natalya Kravchuk, and the Isla De Crear residency, represented by Alex and Sebastian, for a wonderful and rich creative time.”

Nadiia Pastushenko is an ARTISTS at RISK (AR)-UNESCO Resident at Isla de Crear, Spain, with the support of the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund and the UNESCO-Aschberg Programme for Artists and Cultural Professionals.