The ASU Foundation was launched in 2014 (beginning of the war in Donbass and annexation of Crimea) by art curator Katya Taylor and Vladimir Kadygrob and was reactivated in 2022 when Putin started a full-scale war in Ukraine. The activity aims to support the Ukrainian cultural community, including artists, actors, singers, art managers, etc. who are giving huge informational and emotional support to Ukrainians every minute, wherever they are: defending, volunteering, hiding in bomb shelters or continuing creating art.

The foundation collected artworks by established representatives of Ukrainian contemporary art – 9 artists and 2 photographers, who are in Ukraine right now (the list includes Alevtina Kakhidze, Vlada Ralko, Olexiy Sai, Mikhail Reva). All the works have been created during the war, since it started in 2014, and are supported by the personal stories of the Russian invasion on February, 24, 2022.

With all these artistic voices, we are calling upon the whole world to Stand With Ukraine.

VALERY VEDUTA, born in 1983, is a Kyiv-based contemporary photographer, shooting on film in a documentary and fine art style. In 2017 he completed the course “Photography” at Victor Marushchenko School. In 2018, he attended the course run by Sasha Rudenko. His works have been published in Vogue.it, Vogue, Vogue.ua, Fashionweek.ua, Bird in flight, Harper’s Bazaar, Officiel-online.

His photobook, Gray Contour, features a series of landscapes that were shot in 2017 – 2019 in The Arabat Spit, located between the Henichesk Strait to the north and the north-eastern shores of Crimea to the south. Most recently, Veduta has been documenting his family’s journey during the war. Starting with their move to the parking garage of an apartment building, and now as they flee to Lviv, Veduta’s candid and heartfelt imagery shows in real time what life is like under Putin’s attack. Now in Lviv.

HANA HRABARSKA – 28.04.1986, Kryvyi Rih, photographer. She shoots portraits and reportages in Europe, USA, Japan, India and her studio. Anya’s portfolio includes works for Ballantine’s, TEDx Kyiv, Kachorovska, Asthetíque, IZIbank, Firefly Aerospace, Mumiy Troll, Sergey Zhadan, DJ Nastia. Now in the Netherlands.

MASHA SHUBINA, born in 1979, is a Ukrainian postwar & contemporary painter. In 2003, she graduated from the National Academy of Arts and Architecture in Kyiv. She has worked as an architect and is considered one of the most prominent Ukrainian contemporary artists. Numerous key galleries and museums such as Winzavod Contemporary Art Center have featured Masha Shubina’s work in the past. Now in Ukraine.

ANNA NADUDA , born in 1983, is a multidisciplinary artist and secret gardener. Main scope – graphics, sculpture, site specific work, land-art. Education: National Academy of Art and Architecture, Kyiv. More info: Anna Naduda. Now in Ukraine.

VLADA RALKO , born in 1969. Lives and works in Kyiv. One of the most famous expressionists in independent Ukraine. Participant in more than 50 republican and international exhibitions across Ukraine, as well as at the SCOPE Art Show in Miami Beach, the Lincoln Center in New York City, the Dallas Art Fair, and galleries in Germany and Austria. In 1994 she graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture (Department of panel painting, supervised by V. Shatalin). Since 1994, she has been a member of the National Artists’ Union of Ukraine.

MIKHAIL REVA, born in 1960. Ukrainian artist, sculptor, architect, jewelry craftsman, the founder of a non-profit organization – REVA Foundation, co-founder of a charitable organization, ” Buduschee” (‘The Future’), a rehabilitation center for children named after Boris Litvak. More info: Mikhail Reva. Now in Croatia.

APL315, Ukrainian artist and graffiti artist, was born in Odesa in 1986. He started out, in the second half of the 2000s, as a member of the small local youth subculture of graffiti artists, and very early in his career succeeded in breaking into the museum and gallery scene. In this context, in the second half of the 2010s, a serious shift took place in APL315’s artistic explorations. Armed with bravery learnt on the graffiti scene, a readiness for new challenges, and the habit of long graffiti “raids” in the open air, Apl315 didn’t abandon the street entirely, but began using alternative media when creating new works. APL315’s most recent projects are dedicated to the war-torn areas of Eastern Ukraine and the Balkans. In his large-scale multimedia installations, the artist asks questions about the fragility of modern-day ecosystems and uncovers the deep historical traumas of Eastern and Central-Southern Europe. Now in Odesa.

ALEVTINA KAKHIDZE, born 1973 in Zhdanivka, Donetsk Region. Lives and works in Muzychi village, Kyiv Region. Winner of the competition for young artists and curators, Centre for Contemporary Art at NaUKMA, in 2002. In 2008, she received the Kazimir Malevich Artist Award. Scholarship holder at the Jan van Eyck Academie (Maastricht, Netherlands), participated at Iaspis Open House (Stockholm, Sweden) artist residence, and Centre for Contemporary Art “Ujazdowski Castle” (Warsaw, Poland). Co-founder of a private residence for foreign artists in Muzychi village and the online art publication project: kram.in.ua. More info: Alevtina Kakhidze alevtinakakhidze.com”>Alevtina Kakhidze. Now in Muzychi.

OLEKSIY SAI, born 1975. Lives and works in Kyiv, Ukraine. In 1993 he graduated from Kyiv College of Commercial Art, as a graphic designer. In 2001, he graduated from the Ukrainian Academy of Arts and Architecture, as a graphic artist. More info: Oleksii Sai. Now in Ukraine.

SASHA KOVALEVA, born on 19.12.1984 in Crimea, Ukraine. Lives in Kyiv, works with paintings. More info: Sasha Kovaleva https://aleksandrakovaleva.com/about-me/. Now in Paris.

MARIA KULIKOVSKA, born in 1988 in the city of Kerch, Ukraine. Graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture, Kyiv, Ukraine. From 2016 to 2017, she studied at the Royal Institute of Fine Arts, Stockholm, Sweden. Participant in the project MUHi 2011. Nominated for the Pinchuk Art Prize 2013. Author of architectural projects (in particular, Shcherbenko Art Center building) in Ukraine, Switzerland and China. She has held lectures and workshops on contemporary art in Kyiv (VCRC, Bottega gallery, PinchukArtCentre), Donetsk (IZOLYATSIA), Dnipro, Liverpool and Malmö. Now in Austria.

With the kind support of the State of Berlin – Senate Department for Culture and Europe.