Tonya Melnyk

Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 1988. Seamstress, artist, queer-feminist, grassroot activist. Graduated from Kyiv National University of Technology and Design, courses of contemporary art in Kyiv (in 2014) and School of engaged art in St. Petersburg (in 2015). Since 2015 – is co-founder and participant of Shvemy Sewing Cooperative (Kyiv - St. Petersburg), since 2016 – of ReSew sewing cooperative (Kyiv). Their main media are textiles, clothes, theatrical and performative practices, street art, video, collective practices. The main topics artist work with are fairly priced labor, alternative economy, issues of discriminations and ways to overcome it, illness, selfcare and anti burn practices, relationships between human and nonhuman. Works in duet with Masha Lukianova.

2013-2014 Revolution - It's Fashionable clothes collection (Kyiv) February 2015 "Scarf-posters/"defile" through the places of former combat glory” work (St.Petersburg) 2015-2019 - creating and developing Sewing Cooperative board game

October - November 2020 - workshops for the queer community on creating scarf-posters with personal statements(Kyiv)

2020-till now - working on Balcony Garden video project https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3gyp6UvZNaj8LXU7RDASje2jYpmHBgYW Projects in Duet with Masha Lukianova: July 29, 2016 - Wedding project podcast about Tonya&Masha's wedding project - YouTube includes express wedding "Here and Now" (St.Petersburg), "Wedding. A semi-documentary play in six acts" (Kyiv), Wedding No.5, (Helsinki) March 2020 - creation Textile book of stories about clothes (Uzhgorod)

November - December 2021 – workshops for queer community on creation of Book 2 Textile stories (Kyiv) May 2022 – workshops on creation of Textile Book of Items inside an Emergency Bag (Helsinki)