Great new artists have been selected for the OAF Academy: Tonya (Ton) Melnyk, and the artist duo Satu & Maima Tani will start working in the program this autumn! At OAF Academy they will work on new bodies of work that will premiere at the 2025 Outsider Art Festival.
Tonya (Ton) Melnyk (b. 1988) is an artist and a queer activist from Ukraine, whose art explores themes of labour, queer history, anti-war, ecology and more. Melnyk came to Finland in 2022 as a refugee from Ukraine, where she currently works with her artist partner Masha Ravlyk. At the OAF Academy, Melnyk is working on a new body of work about her late Ukrainian grandmother. Through the story of her grandmother, who lived through two world wars and the war in Ukraine, Melnyk explores Ukrainian history, blood relations, and how politics and history influence the formation of human relationships.
“In the framework of the OAF Academy I want to realize such a project which will be actual for me and for the current situations in which I ended up: between two countries, experiencing war, reflecting on my family history heritage. And at the same time dreaming about another world: a world without violence and discrimination, built on the principles of appreciation for each other and surroundings”, says Melnyk.
Satu and Maima Tani are sisters and collaborators who have been making visual art, performance art and films together since 2018. At OAF Academy, they are working on a new project about power, insects and humanity, which is a continuation of the project Breathing Reef (2019-2024). They are planning to make a movie and a performance.
When the Tanis found out about being selected into OAF Academy, they felt that their years of working together would be seen and appreciated. “We are looking forward to being able to immerse ourselves in the creative process in peace and quiet for once. The support of a mentor and the OAF Academy team will certainly enable us to do something completely new. We can take what we do to a new level.”
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OAF Academy is a new art program that was established in January 2023 as a part of the Outsider Art Festival. OAF Academy opens new possibilities of employment for marginal artists working in the fields of visual arts, performing arts, music, movie, literature and media arts. The program is produced by the outsider art agency and production house Pertti’s Choice, and it’s funded by Kone Foundation. After Ton Melnyk and Satu and Maima Tani, two more artists will be selected for the programme. We will reveal the final selections later this autumn!
Read more: OAF Academy, Ton Melnyk, Satu & Maima Tani
