She was unable to work in the first weeks after the war broke out in her motherland Ukraine. Artist Maria Vashchuk lives and works in Haarlem. The war is far away, but nothing else keeps her busy. She has had her mother who fled from Kiev at home for two weeks. And she signs protest images to raise money for Ukraine. “I feel powerless, but at least with these drawings I can do something,” says Maria.
Ukrainian artist in Haarlem Maria with her refugee mother – NH Nieuws
Maria Vashchuk came to the Netherlands from Kiev nine years ago with her husband to study at the art academy. Now she lives and works in Haarlem. She feels at home here. Six months ago, her relationship with her husband ended. It turned her life upside down. She painted a self-portrait about it in which she stands in a room where the curtains hang crooked. “It was as if a storm had passed through my life,” says Maria. “But what is happening now with the war in Ukraine is much worse. That is just a storm. My personal suffering is nothing compared to what is happening.”
War
For a few weeks, Maria could not hold a brush because of what is happening in her motherland. When the war broke out, her mother called from Kiev. She was panicking. Maria arranged for her to come to the Netherlands. After a week-long bus journey, Maria’s mother arrived safely in Haarlem two weeks ago. “She’s okay, but she’s restless. She watches news, smokes a lot and can’t sleep well,” says Maria. “I’m going to try to put her in touch with other Ukrainians in the area.”
Maria has since gone back to work. She draws protest pictures showing an old woman with a cat in her arms and raises her middle finger at Russian soldiers. “It’s based on a photo I saw on the internet,” Maria says. “It symbolizes the resistance of the Ukrainians against Putin and his army. Ukrainians are unyielding. They do not tolerate an occupier in their country.”
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Also in Culture Club attention for the Texel rapper FreezR. The sixteen-year-old Sam Ekker alias FreezR is still in 4 Havo of the OSG Hogeberg on Texel. He wants to reach the top as a rapper FreezR.
His first EP was released last week. Then the song Elegante, a potential summer hit “The weather is getting better and this song fits perfectly with it. First played in club de Toekomst in de Koog on Texel and then pushed through to the rest of the Netherlands,” says Sam.
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Sam was born and raised Texel. Yet he does not think about rapping in the Tessels. “That just doesn’t fit with the style of hip-hop I want to make,” says Sam. “In addition, I limit myself to the island and I want to become famous throughout the Netherlands”, Sam laughs. Rapping about Texel sheep would make him unique, but he doesn’t like it that way either. “I rap more about things I feel or get angry about,” Sam says. “No sugary love songs. My message is actually, be yourself and don’t worry about what others think of you. Believe in yourself!”
In the song Up, FreezR raps about: “money, money, money must go up.” For many rappers, the ultimate goal is money, big cars and Rolexes. How’s that for Sam? “It would of course be nice if I could earn a lot of money,” he says. “But most of it I would invest in the music again, to be able to do my own thing.” But when that hit comes, he doesn’t just think about himself, but also about people around him. “If I really score a big hit, I’ll buy my mother a holiday home in Spain,” he says with a smile on his face.
Culture Club at NH Nieuws
In the new Culture Club programme, NH Nieuws visits culture makers from our province to ask them about their motivations. All episodes of Culture Club can be viewed on this special page.