Born and raised in war-ravaged Ukraine, Arina Apostolova believes in art’s power to lift people’s moods, a gift she has brought to clients through murals at Gellibrand houses.
If you visit a Gellibrand share house, you might notice a stunning mural painted on an outdoor wall. They can feature native birds, trees and other plants – and even a yellow Kombi van at Linnet Street. These are all from the spray paint cans of Arina Apostolova, an artist from war-torn Ukraine who has been living in Australia for three years.
“Since I arrived here, I fell in love with the country. It is a very difficult time for everybody in Ukraine, and I’m very grateful to be here,” Arina said when I met her at an Altona café, the suburb in which she was getting started on a new mural project.
In Ukraine before the war, Arina worked as an architect, but found the job too stressful. Already a visual artist, she turned her hand to mural painting, and it became her new career.
“I was painting restaurants and shopping centres, and I did some community projects for galleries,” she said of the work in Ukraine that has continued for her in Australia.
“I met Margaret [Gellibrand’s Customer Wellbeing Manager] and she asked me to paint some murals on Gellibrand houses. I said that sounds exciting, I would be happy to do it,” Arina said, adding that she had never worked in the disability sector. She said that when she was painting the Gellibrand murals, clients came up and asked her what she was painting and were intrigued about the materials she was using.
“They made lots of comments – like oh that’s beautiful – and they were really interested in what was happening and what the finished works would be,” she said, adding, “I’m very respectful to everybody who have disabilities. People are people – it was a good experience working with the Gellibrand clients and at the houses.”
Arina said that Gellibrand team members and clients provided guidance about the kinds of artworks that would be best suited to the environments, but she was largely able to follow her own instincts and artistic expression.
“I personally love painting colourful things. I like bright colours, like red and yellow, and I believe they make a good impact on the environment. It always brightens up an area, just brings more positive vibes and feelings. So, I always paint colourful murals!”
As well as painting murals for organisations like Gellibrand and local councils, Arina works for a company that paints sports courts and murals at sporting clubs.
“It’s great work and I love being useful to people. Painting murals has given me the chance to travel all around Australia, even to an Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory.”
That might have been a trip for the yellow Kombi she painted at Linnet Street – but that vehicle is staying put on the wall for Gellibrand clients to enjoy!
Click on the images below to view our gallery:
