Valeria “Nava” Subotina

is a military servicewoman, journalist, lecturer, writer, director of YOUkraine.hub.
She served in the press services of the Azov Regiment (2015–2016) and the Donetsk Border Guard Unit (2017–2020). When the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine started, she joined the Azov Regiment and defended Mariupol. While besieged at “Azovstal,” she wrote texts that became known worldwide. On May 17, 2022, following the order of the President of Ukraine, she, along with other defenders of Mariupol, left “Azovstal” and was forcibly taken captive. Released from captivity almost after a year on April 10, 2023. Currently a Major in the National Guard of Ukraine, reserve Officer.

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Yaryna is a visual artist, performer, co-curator, and lecturer. She works across various mediums including performance art, painting, graphics, and installation, exploring the concept of presence through the body and its visual expressions.Having graduated from the Lviv National Academy of Arts, Yaryna was a grant recipient of the Gaude Polonia scholarship program by the Polish Minister of Culture and was shortlisted for the Young Ukrainian Artists Competition MYXi (2015) and the II Youth Biennale of Contemporary Art of Ukraine (2019). Yaryna has showcased her work in solo exhibitions and art projects across Ukraine, Poland, and Spain. She has participated in numerous exhibitions, performance art festivals, and conferences worldwide, spanning countries like Ukraine, Poland, Italy, Norway, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, Israel, Japan, Thailand, Canada, and the USA.An active organizer and curator, Yaryna co-organized the School of Performance (2019) as part of the International festival “Days of Art Performance in Lviv”, as well as online residencies like “At the place” and “Performance Archive. Ukraine” (2020). She also shares her expertise as a teacher at the Department of Contemporary Art Practices at the Lviv National Academy of Arts.Yaryna’s recent works have been featured at А231 Federação (Salvador, Brazil), JDMooney Foundation and FLOW / Out of Site Chicago (USA), Ukraine!UNMUTED (Kaunas, Lithuania), and BIFPA’23 (Belfast, Northern Ireland/UK).
Yaryna Shumska
Visual artist, performer, co-curator, and lecturer