Natalia at the opening of Petrykivka exhibition in “Parobrod” Cultural Centre, June 2024 ©UNHCR/Kharim Nsengiyumva
Natalia arrived in Serbia from Zaporizhia in Ukraine with two small children. She learnt Petrykivka painting, a traditional Ukrainian decorative painting style, when she was a girl and has been doing it ever since to create decorative objects and presents for friends and family, usually around holidays such as Easter and Christmas.
This is why, for Natalia, Petrykivka means a chance for new beginning away from home, means creativity, means that children from Ukraine can learn about their culture and speak the Ukrainian language to one another. And this is why Natalia organised, with support from the Embassy of Ukraine in Serbia, the very first Petrykivka masterclass workshop in Belgrade in 2022, to provide a cultural base and a safe space for primarily children but also for parents fleeing the conflict in Ukraine. The workshop resulted in a huge joint Petrykivka-style Tree of Life that took five hours to paint, as a symbol of endurance. Meanwhile, local children and their parents joined in the workshops that have been taking place regularly since.
Thanks to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, Natalia exhibited together with a group of refugee artists in the French Institute in Belgrade on the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights last year, and on 17 June this year she opened up her first individual exhibition in Parobrod Cultural Centre in Belgrade, entitled “Tree of Life”.
A clinical psychologist by vocation, Natalia is in the process of having her qualifications recognized in Serbia. For the time being, she is employed part-time at a Belgrade store of one of the leading global clothing chains and does what she can to put food on the table. Natalia believes that her children belong in the national Serbian schools, because they need to integrate in the environment they are in and, most importantly, make new friends. Her sons like to play soccer in the local clubs and do Petrykivka from time to time.
In terms of hopes for the future, Natalia wishes for a “settled life”, for always being able to paint, a more permanent employment but also to have more time for her children. As she navigates her journey, Natalia is actively forging intercultural connections through her artwork and through discovering young talent, while embracing the Serbian language, all in pursuit of realizing her dreams.
Petrykivka workshop, ©Natalia Trokhymets, June 2022
“Tree of Life” composition which resulted from first Petrykivka workshop on International Children’s Day in 2022 , ©Natalia Trokhymets, 1 June 2022
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