ELIA is proud to announce its collaboration and partnership with Abakanowicz Arts and Culture Charitable Foundation (AACCF), who will be granting its largest gift to date to support art students and universities in Ukraine. The scheme, titled the UAx Platform, will support war-affected art students who have remained in Ukraine hoping to continue their degree studies and build their artistic practice, and Ukrainian Higher Arts Education institutions which are struggling to deliver teaching during a time of crisis. 

 

 

 

The announcement of this award and launch of the UAx Platform coincides with the opening of a major Tate Modern exhibition of Polish artist and sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz (1930 – 2017), known as 'Abakans'.  

 

The UAx Platform aims to directly support Ukrainian art students through peer mentoring, knowledge exchange, and capacity building of their institutions, in collaboration with art academies and universities across the EU and beyond. At the core of the scheme is the creation of a Sister School network linking art schools in Ukraine with ELIA member universities across Europe. 

 

Ten schools will be partnered in the first year – five from Ukraine, and five from Germany, Estonia, Poland, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic. ELIA member universities will provide support in the form of professional mentorships between teachers and students in Ukraine. 

 

The following universities and academies will take part in year one:

And will be paired with sister schools:

ELIA believes it is essential to assist students to remain in education in their homeland, but equally important to remind them how much their art practice is crucial to the survival of Ukrainian cultural life. ELIA President Andrea Braidt states, "No matter where in the world, if one school suffers, others feel it. The UAx Platform acts like a switch for ELIA, connecting us directly to counterparts in Ukraine. Together, we strengthen the force, integrity, and intensity of these young artists.” 

 

By 2025, almost 200 Ukrainian students will have received professional mentorship through the scheme as Abakanowicz Fellows. The 15 Ukrainian art schools who take part will become fully subsidised ELIA members for three years, gaining the support of the 280-strong ELIA community of higher arts education institutions and opening up all of ELIA’s programming, resources, networks, and opportunities to staff and students at these institutions. In addition, emergency bursaries will be made available to individual students severely in need so they may continue their studies in Ukrainian art schools. 

 

Oleksandr Soboliev, Rector, Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts (KSADA), said: 

 

“What does it mean for Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts to be part of UAx and a member of ELIA exactly? First and foremost, it is a recognition of our 100-year-old art school. It is an opportunity for teachers and students to gain invaluable experience, to share our achievements in art education and collaborate with others. But most importantly, it provides the opportunity to reboot despite these difficult times, to overcome the psychological and physical consequences that Russian aggression has inflicted on Ukrainian students and mentors.” 

 

About The Abakanowicz Arts and Culture Charitable Foundation  

 

The Abakanowicz Arts and Culture Charitable Foundation began operations in 2019, having been established by the artist twenty years earlier to carry on her legacy. It supports scholarly work on the artist and projects, such as the UAx Platform, which demonstrate her belief in art as a visual language within cultures and dynamic force in contemporary society. Mary Jane Jacob, co-artistic director of AACCF and curator of the exhibition at Tate Modern, said: “Abakanowicz fought to bring art into being.” Driven to create for more than fifty years, she believed only art “opens our eyes to see and our brain to imagine.” Mary Jane Jacobs notes, "At this time, when we need to imagine a new and better world, the Abakanowicz Foundation is enthusiastic to fund this first step in sustaining Ukraine’s young artists and nurturing its creative community.'”

 

For more information about the UAx Platform contact info@elia-artschools.org or visit UAx (elia-artschools.org)