We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Yulia Gasio a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Yulia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
As a child, I was discouraged to study arts by my parents as they argued that “art won’t pay my bills.” I have crossed the planet and came to the land of opportunities – the United States- by myself, when I was 21 years old, to make my dream to become an artist come true. However, I have received a tremendous support from the communities of Central and Southern California during this path. My wish is to return the favor and give the emerging generations the support they need to study the arts.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
The path to becoming an artist has not been easy as my parents discouraged me from my dreams to pursue an education in arts. I was fortunate to be able to come to the US to have my dreams come true. This was one of the biggest risks I took is to come to the United States by myself at 21 years old with the limited funds and limited English. My second risk was to go against my parent’s wishes and study art, knowing there will no be any support coming from my family. I am proud of not giving up on my dreams and following my heart, knowing that all odds are against me
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I have learnt more about myself by being a teacher, sharing my skills with young students and being a role model to those who need it. This is one of the most joyful experiences as a creative to work with young minds. I’ve worked with diverse communities as an artist and educator. As an artist I worked with the Fresno Arc community, collaborating with intellectually and developmentally disabled clients to create a mural and other artistic endeavors. Promoting equity, inclusion, and diversity has also been a central part of my teaching and community-based work. As an instructor, I purposefully make space for diverse points of view. I encourage my students to truly listen to their classmates and to observe each other!s work through the artist!s lens so that they might gain some understanding of his or her experience.I bring my experience as an Eastern European woman to my role as an instructor. It is who I am. Making an intentional effort to bring BIPOC more fully into conversations often steeped in white patriarchal culture, to address students by their preferred pronouns, or to create an inclusive modified curriculum so disabled students have an equally rewarding and engaging classroom experience is fundamental to my success as an instructor and ability to truly connect with my students.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My self-perception as a citizen of Ukraine and America was thrown into relief in 2014, when Russian troops occupied Ukrainian territories of Crimea, Luhansk, and Donetsk. In 2016, during my MFA at CSU Long Beach, I started expressing my political thoughts and feelings in my art, telling the story of my family undergoing the transformation of both their identities and society as a whole. I reevaluated the origins of pan-Slavic identity and began to question the Soviet propaganda and historical perspective I was fed as truth all my formative years. This moment led to a maturation of my artistic purpose of being one of civic duty. This was transposed into my self expression as a painter, reflecting and describing my family story.In my artwork I concentrate on images with the human figure because for me it is the most profound way to describe complex social, political, and personal stories, while showing the fragility of and an appreciation of human life. For a long time, I have been painting and drawing personal narratives of my immediate family living in a war zone in Eastern Ukraine. I chose this narrative of my family story as a theme for my artwork, inquiring into our survival through a unique era of international conflicts and social upheavals. As an American by choice, I will always remain a Ukrainian by my world perception and mentality. The theme of my ongoing series of paintings and drawings is triggered by my parents’ experiences in the ongoing war.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.yuliagasio.com
- Instagram: yuliagasioartist