Art Booster for Ukrainian Female Artists is an educational and networking programme created as a space for professional encounters, exchange of experience, and mutual support for Ukrainian women artists who continue their artistic practices in Vienna.

Relocating to another country means not only a change of geographical context, but also the need to rebuild professional connections, understand how a new art system functions, and find one’s place within its institutional, gallery, and independent ecosystem. For an artist, this often means having to adapt to a new environment while simultaneously maintaining continuity in their artistic practice.

Art Booster approaches integration not as a one-way process of adaptation, but as a form of mutual cultural exchange. Ukrainian women artists do not simply enter a new artistic environment — they also bring their own experiences, artistic methods, cultural memory, professional networks, and new perspectives into it. In this context, Vienna is understood not merely as a place of residence, but as a space for developing new professional and cultural connections.

The programme is built around encounter as a curatorial method. Rather than following a traditional educational format, it offers direct contact with artists, curators, gallerists, art managers, and representatives of cultural institutions. Artist talks, discussions, gallery and studio visits, and encounters with cultural spaces allow participants to explore different models of professional practice and gain a practical understanding of how Vienna’s art ecosystem operates.

An important component of the programme is a space for informal dialogue. Professional networks are formed not only through formal contacts, but also through conversation, shared experiences, mutual recommendations, and the opportunity to be heard. For this reason, Art Booster combines educational and social dimensions: each meeting becomes an opportunity not only to gain information, but also to establish a connection that can continue beyond the programme.

The five programme events will take place across different artistic spaces in Vienna — West Space, West Open Studio, Olaf Osten’s Artstudio, WUK, and Atelier of fine arts artshop. This spatial structure allows participants to encounter different forms of artistic infrastructure, from independent spaces and studios to galleries and cultural institutions.

A particular focus of the programme is professional autonomy and the visibility of Ukrainian women artists. Art Booster creates conditions for an open discussion of practical questions: how to present one’s artistic practice, develop collaborations with galleries and institutions, find exhibition and grant opportunities, build professional networks, and work within an international context.

At the same time, the programme does not seek to create an isolated Ukrainian professional network. Its aim is to open channels of interaction between the Ukrainian artistic community and Vienna’s cultural environment. Through encounters with local professionals and artistic spaces, participants have the opportunity not only to better navigate their new environment, but also to become active contributors to its further development.

In this sense, Art Booster is not only an educational programme, but also a tool for community-building and professional presence. Its aim is to create conditions in which the experience of displacement or professional relocation can become the starting point for new connections, collaborations, and artistic opportunities.

The programme is based on the belief that artistic communities are formed through interaction. An introduction can become a collaboration, a conversation can lead to a new idea, a studio visit can become the beginning of a professional relationship, and an individual experience can become part of a broader cultural dialogue.

Art Booster for Ukrainian Female Artists creates a space where Ukrainian women artists can not only adapt to a new cultural context, but also actively contribute to shaping it — through their practices, presence, voices, and interactions with Vienna’s artistic community.

 

Programme Start: September 2026

Programme End: November 2026

Curator: Yana Hryniv
Project Manager: Olena Dvoretska
With the support of Alsergrund (Vienna, 1090)