e-Directory of Ukrainian Women Success Stories AUDIO-VISUAL ARTS
Writing and Photographing Resilience, Lithuania
Artistic profile
UA woman is a Ukrainian writer, translator, and photographer from Boryspil, near Kyiv. When the war began, she fled to Panevėžys with her teenage son. A long-standing member of the National Writers’ Union of Ukraine, she is an award-winning author of poetry collections, children’s books, and popular science works.
Although educated as a customs officer and translator, she found that she could not sustain herself in Lithuania through writing alone. This challenge encouraged her to pursue new skills, including kinesitherapy studies at Panevėžys College, while continuing to create as a photographer and translator.
The Business Journey
In Lithuania, UA woman discovered photography as both a personal and professional outlet. She joined the Panevėžys Photographers’ Association and began exhibiting works that tell the stories of refugees and their experiences.
Key projects include:
– “Phantom Families of the Real War” (2022–2023) – portraits of refugee women beside mannequins symbolizing absent husbands fighting in Ukraine.
– “Feeling of Fitting: Ukrainian Women in Lithuania” (2024) – exploring the adaptation and success stories of eight Ukrainian women who rebuilt their lives in Lithuania.
– “We Do Not Leave Friends Behind” (2023) – focusing on pets brought to Lithuania by refugees, reflecting loyalty and love during displacement.
Through these projects, UA woman combines her two passions – words and images – to tell human-centered stories of courage, belonging, and emotional survival.
Achievements and Impact
– Literary Achievements in Ukraine: Multiple national and international literary awards, including the Pavlo Chubynskyi Prize, Pavlo Tychyna Prize, and recognition as “Poet of the Year 2015.”
– Cultural Recognition in Lithuania: Grants from the Lithuanian Council for Culture and the Open Lithuania Foundation (Ukreate Hub).
– Community Value: Her work highlights refugee women’s struggles and resilience, inspiring solidarity between Lithuanians and Ukrainians.
– Social Engagement: Offers practical encouragement and reflection to other displaced people, showing that starting anew, though hard, can lead to fresh opportunities.
UA woman on her photography exhibition “We Don’t Leave Our Friends Behind”
“We Don’t Leave Our Friends Behind” is a project about pets that Ukrainians brought with them to Lithuania when fleeing the war.
In the first weeks of the war in Ukraine, social media was flooded with photos of people standing in long queues at the border. Many refugees had their pets with them. After all, they are also family members, the closest and most devoted friends. We probably also remember the volunteers who organized the transport of animals abroad. Sometimes this turned into entire shelters for homeless four-legged friends, who later found homes in safer places. The war has been going on for three years now, and the rescue of animals from the combat zone continues.
According to UA woman of the story, this topic is deeply personal and important to her. It was in Lithuania that she took in a cat brought from a city now under Russian occupation. Today, the animal is part of her small family – a loyal friend and a piece of her homeland.
Media Sources of the Story
Based on publicly available interviews and reports.
Self-reflection questions
Now let’s reflect on the story. Read the following questions and try answering it.
- What aspects of UA woman’s resilience in starting from zero resonate most with your own experiences of adapting to change?
- How do her creative projects (photography and writing) illustrate the power of art to process trauma and build community?
- What role does solidarity and mutual support play in overcoming challenges, based on UA woman’s journey?
- In what ways can storytelling (through words or images) help preserve identity and create belonging in a new environment?
- How might you personally use creativity or new skills to adapt if you were faced with displacement or a major life change?
Self-check questions
Read each of the 5 questions carefully and select the best answer from the options provided.