Solidarity with Ukraine 2023

Les Abattoirs, Musée - Frac Occitanie Toulouse and DRAWinternational are teaming up again in 2023 to welcome an artist from the Ukraine to Caylus (82) for a residency, to affirm their solidarity with the artistic scene in this country.

In 2022, the artist Nata Levitasova won this call for an artist from Ukraine or a Russian dissident artist. She was awarded a residency from September to December in Caylus and an exhibition at the Galerie des publics des Abattoirs from January to February 2023. This year, following this new call, Victoria Palma has been selected by DRAWinternational and Les Abattoirs to take part in this new artist residency.

Merenkova Victoria Volodymyrivna, known by her artist name Victoria Palma, was born in Yalta, Crimea (Ukraine), in 1977. She lives and works in Odessa. From 1987 to 1992, she studied at the Yalta Children's Art School. She graduated from the Donetsk Art School in 1997. She organises contemporary art festivals to support and develop art in Ukraine. She has organised eight solo exhibitions in her country and has taken part in international projects and group exhibitions (Turkey, Lithuania, Croatia). Some of her works are in the collections of Ukrainian and Lithuanian museums such as the Museum of Modern Art in Kyiv, and others belong to private collectors around the world (United States, Canada, Israel, Germany, England, etc.).

From 1 October to 30 November, the artist will have a studio and independent accommodation in a medieval building in the heart of the village of Caylus, Tarn-et-Garonne, 1? hours from Toulouse. Les Abattoirs will cover the cost of the residency (studio and accommodation), travel to Caylus and a grant to support the artist's creative work. The DRAWinternational team provides logistical and human support, its knowledge of the world of art and drawing, and fosters social links with the people of Caylus and the local artistic community.

The DRAWinternational centre is a place for research, experimentation and production of drawing in all its forms, and is above all a place for developing the various processes involved in contemporary drawing, and for sharing and exchange between artists and the public. For the past 15 years, it has welcomed international artists who, for several weeks at a time, take over the studios to reflect, experiment and create works. The studio offers complementary facilities such as a space for large formats, a technical workshop, an etching press, a top-loading kiln and technical assistance. DRAWintenational's support is both practical and theoretical, and at the heart of contemporary thinking.

Les Abattoirs and DRAWinternational have been partners since 2018. Since 2019, the association, while continuing its work as host in residence, has opened two exhibition galleries in the village and the owners of the Château de Caylus make part of their space available during the summer period. In 2019, as part of the "I was born a foreigner" programme, the "Odyssées" exhibition was presented in Caylus in three different spaces, with the artists: Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Babi Badalov, Jean Bazaine, Julien Creuzet, Ninar Esber, Jean-Paul Héraud, Bouchra Khalili and Nil Yalter. In 2022, John Mc Norton, director of DRAWinternational, has devised the 'Awaken' exhibition with artists from the Abattoirs collections: Gilles Barbier, Walter Barrientos, Democracia, Bernard Dufour, Safaa Erruas, Daniel Gerhardt, Mehdi-Georges Lahlou, Myriam Mechita, Clément Thomas, Gisèle Vienne and Jérôme Zonder.