Anna
Semenova
Patronize Ukrainian artist - Greetings on my website beginnings! This page is 2-3 minutes to read.
*Photos of me 2020-2022
If you are reading these lines, it means that we have communicated in real life or online: we are friends, previously worked together, maybe you are my Instagram follower or a friend of my friend who supports me and believes in my determination to create.
My name is Anna Semenova. I am a Ukrainian visual artist and a refugee in Poland, soon will be relocating to Canada.
I am organizing a fundraiser to buy work equipment and to develop research for a documentary on how a dance practice influences mental health and can heal traumas.
I have an urge to continue my creative practice as a photographer and emerging filmmaker outside of Ukraine. Through my artistic practice, I would like to unite people who are interested in dance and somatic practices - to form a community. Will be great if you can read my connection to dance and see some photos in the sections below :)
Why and for what am I asking for crowdfunding?
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After I crossed the border into Poland when the Russian-Ukrainian War started my Contax camera (cost 2500$) stopped working because of heavy shaking during the "journey". The only way to repair is in Japan/USA (650-800$).
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My Mac laptop crashed (2500$) after the last dance project "Every Minute Motherland" that I filmed, and I can't continue editing it, and my other projects as well.
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I need simple video equipment to start working on the research for my documentary on dance healing (let's call it Dance the Blues for now).
This equipment made me money for living, for my family that stayed in Ukraine, for helping my friends who volunteer, and for those who need donations.
What can be done for support?
I can't help myself immediately as I have started to establish myself outside of Ukraine so I'm raising money to cover the next steps:
STEP 1 - $6,000 - buy a new laptop for video rendering and fix the camera;
STEP 2 - $8,000 - buy video equipment for documentary work;
STEP 3 - $13,000 - start developing a community and conduct a series of interviews with dancers and movement therapists for the research phase of my documentary film Dance the Blues for the next 6-8 months (hopefully it will cover my work, logistics, expenses for interviews with dancers and therapists).
Therefore, I am kindly asking you to support me, you can become a patron and help me to create and work, donate to Ukraine and continue my investigation for a documentary film.
With your help, it will be possible for me to move forward and know that I have a partner that believes in me. If you could invest 33$ (the real amount is totally up to you!), it will help to buy the necessary work equipment and continue my work.
What are the methods to help?
My beneficiary bank is in Ukraine. Make your donation by Paypal, Revolut, Payoneer, Veem, and SWIFT. Please follow the details in the table below to find the best method to support.
If you have any questions or doubts, you can always reach me:
Whatsup +380687726330 or email -> thesameanna@gmail.com
Payment system details
Revolut
USD EUR PLN
@annas2ta3
maximum 500$
Privatbank Ukraine
USD
SEMENOVA ANNA
Address: 01001, Ukraine, Kyiv, Besarabska Sq. 5
SWIFT CODE/BIC: PBANUA2X
ACCOUNT: 5168 7520 1907 9915
IBAN: UA283052990262026400937537898
JSC CB PRIVATBANK, 1D HRUSHEVSKOHO STR.,
KYIV, 01001, UKRAINE
with fee on my side, but I get USD
Privatbank Ukraine
USD
SEMENOVA ANNA
Address: 01001, Ukraine, Kyiv, Besarabska Sq. 5
SWIFT CODE/BIC: PBANUA2X
ACCOUNT: 5363 5423 2050 4625
IBAN: UA933052990000026205900279018
JSC CB PRIVATBANK, 1D HRUSHEVSKOHO STR.,
KYIV, 01001, UKRAINE
no fee, but exchange into UAH
Unfortunately, I didn't find ways to organize the GOFUNDME site. If someone in the USA, Canada, or European countries has the opportunity to help me raise funds through the GOFUNDME system or other platforms, I will appreciate your help.
I wonder If you are still here reading?
If yes, below I will tell you why I'm into dance and why it's important for me to create. But first, let me know by email if you are interested in becoming a part of a community dance movement practice and if you would like to get updates, thank you :)
If I will be able to raise money for equipment and for my documentary research I am happy to share this news with you and make a detailed report on how the money was spent.
Also, I'm planning to share the creative process and professional stories of the interviewers while researching for the documentary.
My dream is to build a community of non-dancers with the help of dance practices. Together with a dancer/therapist, we will provide online classes to make this path fun and help you become more connected to your body, and through it to mind. So stay tuned!
*Gosia Mielech Gaga teacher and Polish contemporary dancer in my POV
Why does dance matter to me?
Dance practice became my guide to grieving and self-knowledge since I had human losses in my life, and experience of emigration. That's how I began my journey in adulthood - to look for my authentic self and work through all my body memory. I discovered new therapeutic possibilities in movement practices and was so excited that I shared them with all my friends.
Thanks to my teachers of contact improvisation and body-mind centering in Ukraine and Poland. Thanks to my teachers of Gaga dance, Feldenkrais method, and Dance Movement Therapy in Israel. During the first months of the War in Ukraine, I survived and recovered just because of the knowledge shared with me. I started creating again and felt the urge to go side by side with dance.
My mission is to invite and unite people with dance, and to widen the circle of admirers of performative dance as well. Dance can navigate to self-support and self-healing in moments of despair and difficulties in life. Dance fulfills and liberates!
*Therapeutic dance during the first month of War, Here and now poetry in subtitles
During the past four months, I had the honor of working with choreographers and dancers who, with the language of movement, represented the painful experiences, but also the incredible resistance of Ukraine in this war:
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Ukrainian choreographer Vladyslav Detyuchenko and American Company-E made "MARIUPOL" a dance piece created by Zoom-rehearsals with a translator between participators, the premiere was shown in Washington in June 2022.
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Polish choreographer Maciej Kuzminski, together with Ukrainian and Polish dancers, created the project "Every Day Motherland", the premieres were shown in Łódź and Gdańsk in August 2022.
While the Ukrainian military is fighting on the front lines, the Ukrainian artist is fighting on the international stage, reminding others that the war is not over - it is here, with us every day. "Art became a form of resistance", as Paul Bargetto, an American-Polish dramaturg, told the dance crew on the last production.
The war continues, and I'm hoping that more artists will show up and talk about the war in the language of art.
*Trailer for Every Minute Motherland dance premiere in Poland
It's just a kind reminder, that this page was created for the good purpose to support a Ukrainian artist, so please, become my Patron and share this link with the people you know will benefit from joining our community.
And if you got to the bottom of this page, first of all, thank you for your attention, I feel grateful to have you here and send my best wishes for your day.
Speak soon!
Truly yours,
Anna