WOMEN FIRST

Michigan-based artist and entrepreneur Svitlana Martynjuk is determined to facilitate fair representation of women in the global art scene

- Manasvi Jerath

When Ukraine-born Svitlana Martynjuk set out to establish herself as an artist in the US, she was shocked to discover the serious under-representation of women in the American and global art scene. This triggered her to create a platform and community called All SHE Makes, which now provides hundreds of women artists the resources and opportunities to develop and grow commercially.

Born and raised in Rivne, a city in western Ukraine, Svitlana was 16 when she went to the US on a student exchange programme. “No one prepared me for the culture shock,” she says. “The climate, the way people lived their lives, dependence on vehicles, lack of city-like living, the inability to have the same opportunities as other people due to visa restrictions, and constantly being singled out and having my intelligence questioned simply due to being an immigrant from Eastern Europe – this put me in survival mode for years.”

Because of these difficulties, Svitlana took longer than usual to complete college. A bad relationship that ended with her in therapy also led her to take up clinical psychology in her undergrad. Soon after, she began working on her art career.

A move from Texas to Michigan along with her partner gave Svitlana everything she needed at the time. “The Michigan climate is identical to Ukraine, and the area we live in resembles city living, which I missed so much,” she narrates, sharing that she connected with a local art community and participated in art events for the first time in her life.