Olha Svieshnikova, a Ukrainian refugee living here in Utah, is getting attention for her artwork.
Her paintings, inspired by emotions, have gained attention from galleries globally. SANDY – A Ukrainian refugee living here in Utah is getting attention for her artwork.
That creative outlet has helped Olha Svieshnikova navigate the stress of living in a new place – and uncertainty about the future. Svieshnikova lives with her mother and son in Sandy. They left their home in Ukraine and came to Utah four years ago While adjusting to a new place and new language, Svieshnikova has found new purpose through art. Her apartment is full of paint, canvases and colorful expressions of how she feels.
Paintings by Olha Svieshnikova are pictured in her Sandy apartment on Friday. Svieshnikova, a refugee from Ukraine, said art is her life and her soul. "It helps preserve me," she said, noting that her art allows her to get through difficult or depressing times.
"I don't ever plan what I'm going to draw. It comes from my inner state, my emotions and intuition.
"While in Utah, Svieshnikova has worked with Women of the World, a nonprofit organization that helps refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants. "Olha is special, I think, because of her resilience," said Sydney Whitby, one of the organization's case managers. "Life is hard . She has a tough job, long hours, all of those things.
But she doesn't let that stop her from building her dream against all the odds.
" That dream is art. Svieshnikova started an Instagram account to showcase her artwork and quickly received attention from galleries in the U.S. and abroad. She sellsArt has also helped Svieshnikova navigate the stress of uncertainty. Her family's humanitarian parole, allowing them to live in the U.S., is set to end soon, and she's trying to renew it.
But moves from the Trump administration have made that more difficult.
"I'm very grateful to the country, America," she said. "I'm very grateful that they gave us the opportunity – not just my family, but to Ukrainians – to save our lives and be safe. It's unbelievable.
""How can we build our lives, our futures, when we aren't confident about what will be tomorrow? " she said. Olha Svieshnikova stands in her Sandy apartment near her art supplies on Friday. Svieshnikova is currently competing in an art competition.
Still, for Svieshnikova, the most important thing is that she and her family are healthy and safe. She said she wants to show people through her example that they never need to give up.
"If you have life, if you have health, whatever happens in life, get up off your knees and just go," she said. "That's it. "The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
Gene Shalit, longtime 'Today' show movie critic with bushy hair, massive mustache, dies at 100Daniel Woodruff is a reporter/anchor with deep experience covering Utah news. He is a native of Provo and a graduate of Brigham Young University. Daniel has also worked as a journalist in Indiana and Wisconsin.
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