(c) Izolyatsia 2014
Izolyatsia is a creative hub at the centre of art-production in Kiev; they are a point of intersection for those passionate about cultural and social change. They are one of four outstanding hubs from Kiev in Ukraine who the British Council has invited to attend the European Creative Hubs Forum in Lisbon, where they will be joining over 200 hub managers from across Europe.
A creative hub is a physical or virtual space that allows people to come together to exchange ideas or work on a collective theme. The explosion of ‘hub spaces’ around the world is indicative of the new ways in which creative people want to connect with each other and exchange radical ideas in a low-risk environment. Kiev is home to some incredibly exciting and dynamic creative hubs.
Izolyatsia is a not-for-profit organisation which first started life in a disused insulation factory in the now seized territory of Donetsk in the east of the country. Izolyatsia focusses on three main directions in its work: producing art, education and projects that are geared towards activating and nurturing Ukraine’s creative sector.
(c) Izolyatsia 2014
Having been based in Kiev since June 2014, Izolyatsia are expanding to provide facilities and opportunities for the creative community in the city. They have recently negotiated a 1,500 sq metre space in the city centre called Izone Space. This space will host specialist facilities such as large scale photographic printing, letter-press printing and a sculpture workshop for artists and commercial clients.
Oleksandr Savsunenko from Izolyatsia is passionate about the creative scene in Kiev. Here are his recommendations on what else is making the city such a vibrant and exciting place to work in right now:
“Cultural Project has a great programme of lectures on Art and the History of Art" http://www.culturalproject.org/
“Start Up Ukraine is the biggest and best open incubator and co-working space right in the heart of Kiev. Lots of fantastic creative industries’ projects come from this incubator" http://startupukraine.com
The European Creative Hubs Forum, supported by partners including the British Council, runs between 13th-15th January 2015 in Lisbon, Portugal. More information here and join in the conversations live on Twitter during the Forum using #creative_hubs