Honour for sculptor
A SCULPTOR who fled Ukraine with just his family, pets and a suitcase after his studio was destroyed in the Russian invasion, has been accepted into the Royal Society of British Artists.
Alex Lidagovsky, his wife, Dasha Nepochatova, and stepdaughter, Sofia Krotova, who is 16, were forced to leave Kyiv when Russia’s invasion began on February 24 2022.
Now settled in the UK, Lidagovsky, 63, who was an in- demand sculptor in Ukraine, welcomed the PA news agency into his studio at Fusion Arts Studios, in Kingston upon Thames, in south- west London.
Reflecting on the beginning of the war, Lidagovsky, whose words were translated into English by his wife, said: “My studio was destroyed at the beginning of the war and was near Kyiv and I knew about it later from my friends when they sent me photos of destroyed and bombed studio.
“When we were leaving Ukraine to save our daughter we never thought it would be for so long. Now, because I’m so far away from my country and it looks like I live another life, I try not to think about it, to deny it, to drive this pain into the depths of my consciousness and give myself more time to reflect on it.”
Ms Nepochatova, 43, has recently been accepted on to the MPhil in Slavonic Studies at Oxford University, which starts in October and has “always been a dream” of hers.
“My focus will be Ukrainian female literature as a women empowerment tool because, in Ukraine in 2020, I founded the first, feministic, publishing house called Creative Women Publishing and we want Ukrainian female voices to be heard,” she explained.
She said the day Russia launched its invasion on Ukraine was “unbelievable” and “surrealistic”.
“You don’t plan to be in another country, and one day you just wake up in your own bed and somebody calls you on the phone and tells you that the war has started,” she added.
“And then you have an hour to get your suitcase and put in some stuff.”
The couple made sure their pet dog and rat went with them as they travelled to western Ukraine and then Poland.
They reached Kingston upon Thames on April 13 2022 via the Homes for Ukraine scheme because one of Ms Nepochatova’s friends, Liz Smith, lived there and hosted them in her house for six months.
Initially, Lidagovsky said it was difficult to forge a new life in the UK due to the language barrier.
However, the kindness of people he met and becoming a part of World Jewish Relief ( WJR)’ s specialist training and employment programme ( Step) for Ukrainian refugees, which set him up with a dedicated employment adviser, Caitlin Bugler, in November 2023 - allowed him to flourish.
He said Ms Bugler was “amazing” and from the first moment they met, she “behaved like a proper art manager” and offered support and information about opportunities.