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About

Olesia Miftahova

Born in Ukraine, Olesia Miftahova currently lives and works in Wales, UK. She is a full-time artist and poet whose visual practice evolved from her experience with poetry, transforming language into imagery while preserving its emotional and philosophical depth.

“It was that I realized that through painting I can express what words don’t have time to capture. This isn’t a rejection of poetry, but rather an expansion of my creative voice.”

Working across media, Olesia Miftahova currently focuses on acrylic painting, whose immediacy and adaptability respond to the conditions of a migratory life. Through this material, she investigates how familiar symbols are altered by present experience, and what remains of them after displacement, rupture, and re-formation.

Olesia Miftahova’s work is shaped by the experience of living between cultures during a period of war and migration. Drawing on biblical imagery alongside Celtic, Slavic, and Welsh mythology, she revisits archetypal structures and considers how they persist and transform across contexts.

Her artistic path has been enriched by studying under renowned artists in Ukraine and the United Kingdom, which has strengthened her skills and broadened her techniques. Today, her work is rapidly gaining recognition, resonating strongly with audiences and fellow artists.

Her practice examines the ways in which time reconfigures memory. She is particularly interested in moments when, in the context of global change, established narratives begin to shift and inherited forms acquire new meanings.

Exhibitions

Selected Solo Exhibitions:

2025

Garden of Memories: Growing Beyond Caerphilly County Borough Council, Ystrad Mynach, United Kingdom
Garden of Memory Caerphilly Library, Caerphilly, United KingdomSelected

Selected Group Exhibitions:

2026

Is There a Connection Between Us? MLYN Design Hub, Kyiv, Ukraine
If Trees Could Talk (International Art Biennale 2026) Batangas, Philippines
Ultra Red (International Watercolour Exhibition) Bukovinian Watercolour Association (BWA), Chernivtsi, Ukraine
Generation of War / Η Γενιά του Πολέμου Goethe-Institut Athen, Athens, Greece
Wandering Stars Art Voyage Gallery, Zofingen, Switzerland Gardens of Life, POSK, London, England, United Kingdom
Cost of Truth C & G Artpartment, Sheffield, United Kingdom
Fish on a Hook A4 Studios, Altrincham, United Kingdom
Celebration of Ukrainian Culture Gallery Gwyn, Aberaeron, United Kingdom
Between Worlds Taras Shevchenko National Museum, Kyiv, Ukraine
The Celebration of Ukrainian Culture Greenspace Gallery, Ferryside, Wales, United Kingdom
Gardens of Life – English Edition POSK Gallery, London, United Kingdom
United by Watercolour 2025 Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art, Odesa, Ukraine
The Dark Side (4th Edition) Boomer Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Florentime South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University, Odesa, Ukraine
The Summer Exhibition Fronteer Gallery, Sheffield, United Kingdom
Folklore, Fairy Tales, Myths & Legends Queen Street Gallery, Neath, United Kingdom
Green Fronteer Gallery, Sheffield, United Kingdom
Botany Fronteer Gallery, Sheffield, United Kingdom
Botanical Art Worldwide 2025: Crop Diversity in Ukraine National Museum of Natural History, Kyiv, Ukraine
15th Community Art Exhibition Circular ArtSpace, Bristol, United Kingdom
Blooming Kas Sanatevi, Kaş, Turkey

2024

A Decade with Umbrella Revolution and Dignity – Art & Documentation Exhibition Bonham Tree Aid, Trafford, United Kingdom

ART FAIRS

2026 | Art Kyiv 2026: "This is Normal", Lavra Gallery (7 Lavrska St), Kyiv, Ukraine

From Poetry to Paint: How Ukrainian Artist Olesia Miftahova Found Her Voice in Wales

At Caerphilly Library, several paintings by Ukrainian artist Olesia Miftahova hang on the walls—works she donated to thank the community that supported her family. Olesia is a mother of three who arrived in Wales last year and has since established herself as an active member of the local arts community while gaining international recognition for her work.

Learn more