Art & Wellbeing Workshop — Melbourne
Supporting families with children in Ukraine through mindful art practice
Project overview
This art & wellbeing workshop was delivered in Melbourne as part of a community initiative supporting children affected by the war in Ukraine.
The project was developed in collaboration with Space2B and Create4Ukraine, bringing together creative practice, community care, and cultural solidarity.
The workshop created a calm, supportive space where art became a way to connect, reflect, and contribute through collective creative action.
Project details
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, 2024
Context: Community-led fundraising and support initiative
Format: In-person group workshop
Participants: 15+
Audience: Adults
Partners: Space2B, Create4Ukraine
Focus: mindful art practice, community support, cultural connection
Concept & intention
The workshop was conceived as a gentle, attentive creative space where art could support emotional grounding while contributing to a wider humanitarian cause.
Drawing on Anna Mykhalchuk’s Samchykivka-inspired practice — a traditional folk painting approach rooted in nature, rhythm, and symbolic form — participants were guided through a slow, mindful process of making.
The intention was to:
create space for calm and presence
offer a moment of reflection within a difficult global context
allow participants to engage with the cause through creative action rather than urgency
Art was approached not as a response to crisis, but as a steady, caring practice that supports connection and empathy.
Community & collaboration
This project was shaped through collaboration with organisations actively supporting displaced and affected communities.
Working alongside Space2B and Create4Ukraine, the workshop became part of a broader network of care — where creative practice, community gathering, and support for children in Ukraine intersected.
The collaboration highlighted the role of art as a shared language that can hold complexity, compassion, and solidarity without needing explanation.
Reflection
The Melbourne workshop demonstrated how mindful art practice can create moments of stability and connection within uncertain circumstances.
By slowing down and working with natural forms, colour, and rhythm, participants were able to engage with the cause in a way that felt grounded, respectful, and human.
This project reflects Anna Mykhalchuk’s wider Art & Wellbeing practice, where creativity is used to support presence, community connection, and care — both locally and across borders.