CivicArt Through the Eyes of Its Participants: Watch Their Stories

What happens when art becomes a tool for civic participation, dialogue, and community building? The people who took part in CivicArt share their experiences and show how the project’s ideas have been translated into local initiatives, creative activities, and new forms of cooperation.

We invite you to explore a series of video stories featuring youth workers, artists, educators, and community practitioners from Ukraine and Georgia. Through their reflections, they share how artivism can help young people express themselves, address social issues, and take an active role in their communities.

Meet the CivicArt participants and discover their stories:

• Olesia Musiienko — KIEC European Club (Ukraine). Olesia initiated the Spring Art Labs and the youth-led photo exhibition Our Shared City in Kremenchuk, demonstrating how theatre, collage, and photography can open conversations about identity, participation, and belonging.
• Oksana Cherviakova — NGO Youth Development Center (Ukraine). Through the CivicArt School in Zolotonosha, Oksana demonstrates how creative methods can be integrated into civic education for school-age young people, connecting artistic activities with human rights and active citizenship.
• Maia Mushkudiani — Knowledge Hub (Georgia). In Rustavi, Maia worked with young people to explore the civic messages of street art and respond through their own posters and videos, encouraging teenagers to find their voice in public spaces.
• Kateryna Mahdenko — Neoteric Institute of Acting (Ukraine). Through the WE/ME performance laboratory, Kateryna explores how theatre, movement, voice, and personal stories can create opportunities for civic dialogue and artistic expression.
• Meri Shalutashvili — GergArt (Georgia). Meri shares the experience of international cooperation within CivicArt, highlighting how artistic approaches connect youth workers and organisations across Georgia, Ukraine, and Europe.
• Marta Dzhyhryniuk — Social Worker (Ukraine). Marta reflects on the potential of artivism beyond the artistic sector, showing how creative methods can support dialogue, participation, and civic engagement in social work and community practice.
• Liliia Stepchenko — NGO Kebetas (Ukraine). Liliia organised youth workshops exploring togetherness and safety through collage, drawing, and play, creating opportunities for young people to reflect on mutual support and protection in wartime.

The collection also includes a video overview of the CivicArt Evaluation Gathering in Kazbegi, Georgia, held in August 2026. During the gathering, participants exchanged experiences from local artivist initiatives in Ukraine and Georgia and established the CivicArt Alliance to continue their cooperation beyond the project.

These stories reflect the diversity of CivicArt experiences and demonstrate that art-based civic education is not limited to professional artists. It can be incorporated into youth work, education, social work, community development, and many other fields.

Watch the videos and discover CivicArt through the voices of its participants!

All videos and related materials are available in the Library section of the CivicArt project website: https://civicart.rcfres.org/