Art as a Path to Healing: Notes from the Art Breakfast at Ukrainian Action Forum 2025

Speakers dedicated special attention to fears that often become the driving force behind major creative decisions.

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The Ukrainian Action Forum was held for the second time in Ivano-Frankivsk. It was organized by The Aspen Institute Kyiv and Promprylad, with co-organizers Yehor Grebennykov and the company Blago. As part of the Forum, an Art Breakfast took place. The participants included:

• Viacheslav Drofa (OTOY), Ukrainian musician
• Kateryna Kalytko, Ukrainian poet, translator, and author of poetry collections and prose
• Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, film director, screenwriter, and author of the film Pamfir
• Nadiia Shapoval, founder of the brand Nadiia, ethnographic researcher, stylist, and model

Iryna Ivanchyk, founder of the “Believe in Yourself” charitable foundation, moderated the conversation.

Art as Therapy and a Tool for Reflecting on the Trauma

One of the key discussion topics was healing through creativity. During wartime, art helps process complex emotions, both collectively and individually. In the first case, it becomes a tool for shared experience, helping society articulate its trauma. Second, individuals engage with art to form personal meaning.

Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk emphasized that there’s a growing demand for collective artistic practices—small theatres, book clubs, literary evenings. These events help Ukrainians process trauma together, support one another, and find new answers to extraordinary challenges.

“When an artistic image resonates with the audience, it brings catharsis. Our collective experience now fuels the desire to reach that. Creativity helps people find the words they can’t express themselves.”

In contrast, Nadiia Shapoval emphasized that reflecting individually through creativity, such as reading or writing, is especially important during collective trauma.

“Reflecting alone is the hardest thing, one-on-one with yourself. Especially in the Instagram era, where we all live like an endless collective. The true art of resilience is looking in the mirror without others around.”

Where Is the Line Between Craft and Creative Calling?

The speakers also discussed the distinction between creativity and craft. Artists have never agreed on a universal answer, but the panel did outline some differences between the two.

Viacheslav Drofa (OTOY) argued that “creativity” and “craft” are fundamentally different. The former is a raw, internal impulse that can’t be forced. True creativity only happens when someone feels the need for salvation and finds it in what they create.

“I’ve often heard people try to generate prompts for their creativity. But I believe that creativity always responds to its own call. It allows a unique artist to emerge only when it reflects their personal experience.”

By contrast, craft is focused on honing skills, refining technique and producing a finished product. Craft, generally, aims for results. Creativity is more about the process.

“There’s a lot of creativity that has nothing to do with craft—and many crafts that have nothing to do with creativity,” notes Viacheslav.

Kateryna Kalytko agrees that no one—not even oneself- should be forced into creativity. However, she adds that creativity also requires a conscious motive.

“If someone, regardless of their field, wants to say something to the world, they should ask: what will I change or contribute to the collective experience? We’re all individualists, but in the end, our imprint shapes the collective consciousness.”

Kateryna emphasizes that there’s nothing wrong with craft. In “great” art, she believes, such an approach is essential for the sake of both quality and depth.

Fear as a Crucial Driver of Creativity

The speakers spent time discussing fears, which often drive powerful creative decisions.

Viacheslav Drofa said that confronting fear is essential for creative openness.

“If you’re scared—feel the fear, go through it. And when the desire to express yourself becomes strong enough, it won’t stand in your way. Eventually, your personal call to create will surface.”

He shared a fear tied to how his genre is perceived. Rap in Ukraine has long been seen as marginal and shallow. Viacheslav admits he’s afraid of attaching his creativity to something viewed as “low-intellect” or “low-grade.”

Kateryna Kalytko also sees fear as a point of growth for artists. Fear doesn’t just block—it motivates. She shared a personal story:

“At the start of the full-scale invasion, I felt like a dam had flipped my entire flow against my will. Reality didn’t fit into any familiar way of expressing it. I thought I would never write again—it was a deeply traumatic feeling. But language turned out to be stronger than any block. It burst forth and began working on its own. That was a powerful lesson.”

Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk views fear as an internal resource that can transform into creative energy. He says everyone has a choice about where to direct that fear.

“From a philosophical standpoint, in art, fear is needed to sublimate that energy and convert it into something else. The moment of creative sublimation is different for everyone. No one should judge or criticize it—it’s a deeply personal experience.”

Nadiia Shapoval also shared her biggest fear:

“My biggest fear is to stop feeling things genuinely, like a young artist whose work is sharp and true. To one day become a giant shell with a huge muscular system and stop releasing my pearl.”