A professional painter is regaining hope and confidence in a new city
Date:
Despite being an established and successful painter, Yuliia Postulha’s life has not been the same since she was forced to relocate from Kharkiv due to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Yuliia and her husband were working as painters in Kharkiv and had more than 400 completed projects under their belt. During the last six months before the full-scale invasion, she was the head of a creative workshop that conducted classes on making Easter eggs and Petrykivka painting. In her studio, she used to teach children aged between 9 and 12.
"All my adult life I have spent studying or doing painting. Together with my husband, I was engaged in wall painting, airbrushing and painting of pictures. We always had works to do in Kharkiv and never had to market ourselves. In addition to working in offices, we have painted on many buildings, and decorated children's spaces and a coffee shop.”
All this changed when Yuliia had to leave Kharkiv on the sixth day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and relocate to Ivano-Frankivsk and later France for safety. After spending five months in France, Yulia returned to Ivano-Frankivsk to establish herself as an artist.
"In Frankivsk, it has been very difficult to find work. We have had only one completed project during our stay here, so far, and it was very minimal. Because no one knows us, no matter how cool we are, we need to invest in advertising ourselves."
Here, she got in contact with an NGO called D.O.M.48.24, and with their help became an art therapy teacher at the Women’s Empowerment Center. Later, when the call for the participation in a business development course was announced, Yuliia applied for it and was selected.
The business development course provided by the Women’s Empowerment Center, with the support of the UN Women, has acted as a catalyst to provide her with the confidence and hope that she was losing.
However, she has not lost hope. The information about the business course sparked a desire for her to resume her favorite activity in a new city.
“I'm starting to take some steps forward. With the knowledge and skills we possess, the future is not too scary. I remember the words of my business course instructor: ‘No one is interested in your failure’. It gave me courage. I'm grateful to myself that I tried, I was able to do it, and I will be able to do it again.”
Yuliia is now regaining hope and confidence in Ivano-Frankivsk to sustain herself and two children.