Art makes people think, wonder, dream: things that authoritarian governments, like the Belarusian one, hate. There I was told that my thoughts were dangerous because they could give me hope. In 2020, Belarusians allowed themselves to dream about freedom and protested to get it. Belarusians made protest into art: women wearing white holding flowers in sign of peace, humorous posters reflecting our heritage, music uniting hearts. This art gave us hope that was cruelly killed by the totalitarian regime and then was banned like never before. We were forced to forget what makes us free: self-expression through art.
Growing up as an artist in an oppressive environment made it hard to accept the reality of my life. I wanted to study art, but was warned against it: what will you do in Belarus with an art degree? Art is pretty, but you know studying it is dangerous! I knew this, but I also knew I couldn’t do anything else. I made my way to study abroad and I started to think about what I can do abroad that I couldn’t do at home, and the answer was clear: I should continue making art, because I want to continue creating freely.