“There is a war, I could die at any moment, and I still have so many plans.”
For Alisa Epifanova, an artist and art producer from Dnipro, the war was a brutal reminder that life cannot be put on hold. When she was forced to leave her home city, she started over – and found a place where she could grow, create and bring together the different parts of her professional life.
Today, Alisa works with both art and art production at the Research and Product Design Center POLE in Ivano-Frankivsk. Here, she has found more than a workplace. She has found people, materials and opportunities that allow her to grow and explore new paths.
“The war forced me to stop postponing my life. I remember thinking at the time: there is a war, I could die at any moment after another shelling attack, and I still have so many plans and projects that I haven’t realised. So I decided to start taking steps towards realising myself as an art producer and artist,” says Alisa.
A new chapter
Before the full-scale invasion, Alisa divided her time between Kyiv and Dnipro. She worked in media production and project management, including producing television commercials. At the same time, she was developing her own artistic practice.
A few months before the full-scale invasion, she returned from Kyiv to Dnipro. When the war began, she was staying at her family home in a village outside the city. Despite friends encouraging her to leave the country, Alisa was certain that she wanted to stay in Ukraine.
But in April 2022, the situation in Dnipro became too dangerous. The constant shelling eventually forced Alisa to leave the city and move to Ivano-Frankivsk in western Ukraine.
Leaving behind everything familiar was not easy. She went from life in two large cities to a completely new life in a smaller one. At the same time, the move marked the beginning of something new.
“The war forced me to stop postponing my life.”
Rather than waiting for life to return to normal, Alisa decided to start working towards her dreams.
“It would be incredible to work here”
In 2024, Alisa happened to attend the opening of the Research and Product Design Center POLE. The centre was established by the Ukrainian organisation Metalab, whose work has received support from IM for several years.
It was above all the atmosphere and the people that caught her attention.
POLE covers more than 1,000 square metres and houses a range of workshops and creative spaces. These include woodworking and ceramics workshops, as well as a biolab researching biodegradable and environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic and developing new materials.
For Alisa, the space opened up a world of possibilities.
“When I first saw the POLE Center, I immediately thought: wow, what an amazing place. And I simply thought – it would be incredible to work here. There are so many different workshops, and here I could find new ways to realise myself,” Alisa recalls.
And that is exactly what she began to do.
Today, she combines her artistic practice with working as an art producer. For the first time, she has been able to bring together professional roles that had previously been separate.
“I see myself continuing to deepen my practice here. Both the ‘macroclimate’ and the ‘microclimate’ are a perfect fit for me. Next to the POLE Center there is an art centre, so I can combine artistic work with art production. This is a period in my life when I can bring together my different creative and professional roles under one roof. I feel like I am exactly where I belong – like a person who has been given the opportunity to realise herself,” she says.
A place to grow
War changes people’s lives in many ways. It can take away people’s homes, sense of security and opportunities to work. It can also make it difficult to continue developing and to be part of the communities where ideas and the future can grow.
That is why places like POLE matter. Here, people can work, meet, learn from one another and create something new.
For Alisa, POLE has become such a place.
“POLE is a place with a strong collective energy. There are many people here, many ideas, opportunities and a drive to create something new,” she says.
“For me, it is a physical space, but also a mental and energetic one. Here I feel not only physically safer, but also mentally calmer.”
It is also an example of what long-term development aid can make possible.
It is about creating the conditions people need to continue working, use their skills and develop new ideas. It is about strengthening organisations and creating environments where people can meet, learn and grow.
And it is about giving people the opportunity not only to get through a crisis, but to start building again.
For Alisa, it has meant finding a place where her different worlds can meet – her artistic practice, materials, ideas and work with other people.
Today, she says that for the first time in a long while, she truly loves what she does.
“These days, I often tell my loved ones: I love what I do. And it’s a wonderful feeling. It’s something that was born here.”
Edited based on source material from Metalab: Malin Kihlström