Ava first became involved with Art for Guernsey in 2017, just before the arrival of our third artist in residence, Dimitri “Dima” Permiakov. As a Russian speaker – Ava is from Odessa, Ukraine, and has lived in Guernsey since 2002 – her help was invaluable. “I started helping with translation and general duties, looking after Dima and taking him to locations he wanted to paint,” she recalled. “I’ve always loved art and I felt so privileged being able to see him creating his art from scratch. It was so interesting to see how his brain works and how he chooses his locations and his subject. I felt I was benefiting, rather than him!”
For the following residency Oleg Mikhailov, a lithographer from St Petersburg, came to the island, and Dima returned on a number of occasions. “I knew very little about lithography and Oleg is a very interesting guy. I can definitely call both him and Dima very close friends,” said Ava.
When the Art for Guernsey Gallery opened, Ava was happy to take on the duty of helping on Saturdays. “I’ve always really enjoyed being in the gallery, especially on Saturdays when it’s the busiest.” She is now officially employed three days a week, although she is always on hand whenever she is needed, and her values align perfectly with those of the rest of the team. “It very much feels like a family and it’s never about personal gain, it’s always about the greater good,” said Ava. “The team is small and very tight, and everyone has the same goals of nurturing students’ talents and promoting Guernsey via art.”
Fortunately for us, Ava is very happy in her job. “I just love it – it’s always busy and it’s always exciting. You never know who you’re going to meet and artists are generally eccentric and interesting; I’m just very curious about them as people.” As for the most challenging part of her work: “I’d say that you always need to have a plan B because so many things can go wrong and you always have to have a quick mind and adapt.”
Ava herself is artistic, but there were different expectations of her when she was growing up in Ukraine. “I went to music school because I come from a Jewish family and every girl was expected to play the piano for seven or eight years. But that wasn’t my thing – I always wanted to draw and I don’t think I would have ever become an artist but I would have enjoyed being an art critic or an art writer; I would have liked to have had that sort of education.” Having taken ownership of Art for Guernsey’s workshop programme, there is always a chance for Ava to practise her creativity.
If Ava could invite any artist over to Guernsey for a residency, it would be difficult to decide between Italian Renaissance painter Caravaggio or American portrait artist John Singer Sargent: “I’ve been all over Italy chasing Caravaggio’s paintings, and I’d love to find out more about his mysterious life. But Sargent could paint a flattering and elegant portrait of me, so if I could only choose one, it would have to be him.”
