Tonya (Ton) Melnyk (b. 1988) is a textile and multimedia artist and queer feminist activist from Kiev, 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. The duo is currently working in the OAF Residency Programme and they are also involved in the OAF Visual Arts Programme.
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 Holodomor and the 2nd World War, Melnyk explores Ukrainian history, blood relations, and how politics and history influence the formation of human relationships.
“In the framework of the 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 each other and surrounding”, says Melnyk.
Read more: Ton Melnyk’s Instagram, Ton Melnyk and Masha Ravlyk in OAF’s Visual Arts Program
