Art Residency Program is a new project launched by IZOLYATSIA. The aim of the project is to attract the attention of international artists to Donetsk and the region as a space with a great potential for cultural development. The project offers artists to work on a proposed curatorial theme, and by immersing themselves within an unfamiliar environment, to create works, which are a reflection of their understanding of Donetsk as a social and cultural phenomenon.

IZOLYATSIA’s residency program has a two-fold mission. On the one hand, this residency program is an opportunity for young artists from all over the world to develop their artistic vision through a confrontation with a very powerful and aesthetically unique setting of the Donetsk region. On the other hand, it is also an opportunity for local artists to be inspired by others’ views of their own city, and a possibility to bring out the region from its cultural and social isolation. IZOLYATSIA aims to hold one residency program per year.

The residency will be held on the territory of a former insulation materials plant, within a hundred meters form the IZOLYATSIA art-centre. IZOLYATSIA is situated in the industrial outskirts of Donetsk, surrounded by numerous factories, some of which are still active. A breathtaking view of the industrial kingdom can be observed from the top of the slag-heap (terrikon), which stands adjacent to the IZOLYATSIA gallery space. This is a unique opportunity to become immersed in an industrial setting of the 20th century, and to experience first-hand the transition from industrialisation to post-industrialisation. Although IZOLYATSIA is located on the periphery of Donetsk, one may access the city centre, as well as other industrial and mining cities of the region, with public transport.