EXHIBITION OPENING // "Ding-Ding!" by Maryna Handysh

On Wednesday, 30 September 2026 at 5:00 p.m., Ukrainian artist Maryna Handysh will open her solo exhibition “Ding-Ding!” in the courtyard green house of Aparaaditehas.

For the last two months, Handysh has been staying at the Tartu Art House as part of an artistic residency intended for Ukrainian creative professionals. The program is organised by the Estonian Creative Residencies Network LOORE and financed by the Estonian Ministry of Culture. The upcoming exhibition features paintings created during her time in Tartu, alongside ceramic sculptures made during a previous residency in Finland.

Handysh explains: “‘Ding-ding!’ is what my daughter calls the little movement she makes when she stands on her tiptoes and bounces up and down. It’s her own word. It makes me smile even in the most difficult moments. In 2022, Russia’s full-scale invasion shattered my sense of the future. Having a child felt like an impossible dream. But I realised that I refused to let the war dictate my life. I don’t want to give Russia the power to decide whether I can have a family, love, give birth, make plans or be happy. Yes, I have the audacity to keep living! Despite the losses, the explosions and the constant feeling of danger. Not because I fail to see the threat, but because I refuse to let Russia determine how much love, joy and future my life can hold.”

Maryna Handysh (b. 1989) is a Ukrainian artist. She studied at the Kyiv Institute of Decorative and Applied Arts and Design and the Lviv National Academy of Fine Arts. She has participated in numerous international artist residencies, symposiums and exhibitions.

The exhibition is open until 18 October, Mon−Fri 10−18, Sat 11−16.
The exhibition is organised by the Tartu Artists’ Union in collaboration with Aparaaditehas.
We thank the Biblioteek bookshop!