For more than a year, Ukrainians have been experiencing an unimaginably difficult situation and the perspective is still unclear. A number of women artists have gone to friendly countries to pursue creative work, some have returned, others have stayed, many others have not left Ukraine and are trying to pursue art there. Focus Ukraine will present examples of their work in various formats. Iryna Zapolska works sensitively with the youngest children - toddlers together with dancers in Kiev, but lives in Germany. Mariia Salo has returned to Lviv to create short solos. Rita Lira has found a base in France, Maria Martos in Krakow, Poland. Nika Horiacha spent a year in a refugee camp in Spain and has now joined Yana Reutova in Prague.
Interactive performance for toddlers 6–36 months, created in close collaboration with Lithuanian choreographer Birute Baneviciute, whose methodology of working with children is summarized in a separate publication in Ukrainian. In 2013–2021, Iryna was the curator of the children's programme of the GogolFest festival (Kyiv, Mariupol) and other initiatives for the development of creativity from the earliest age