In October 2026, artist Ivana Poliakova began her two-month residency at the guest studio of Künstler:innenhaus Bremen as part of the Artist in Residence Ukraine programme.

Looking forward to her residency in Bremen, Ivana Poliakova already has concrete plans for her time here: “I plan to get to know the local ceramic art scene, participate in alternative firings, continue my research into natural ash-based glazes, and develop a new series of sculptural works.”

Ivana Poliakova (born in 1998 in Odessa, Ukraine; lives and works there) is an artist and ceramicist. From 2004 to 2015, she studied painting and academic drawing at the Kostandi Art School in Odessa. In 2019, she graduated from Odesa I. I. Mechnikov National University with a degree in philosophy. As an artist, she works primarily with ceramics, sculpture, and monumental forms. Her work is based on the exploration of materials and the historical continuity of their use, often drawing on archival research and fieldwork.

Since 2022, the Künstler:innenhaus Bremen has been offering a two-month working stay for artists from Ukraine in cooperation with Artists at Risk. The residency has been supported by the Senator for Culture since 2023 and this year, for the first time, it receives additional support from the Bremen Senate Chancellery. The Artist in Residence Ukraine support programme is aimed at visual artists affected by the Russia-Ukraine war.