We sat down with Inna during this art season to talk about something the community often forgets: the inner child who started making art long before the market came calling, turning sensitivity into strength. "rare.weg’s" upcoming exhibition, “UA Art Salon,” running through June 6, brings together six Ukrainian artists whose works aim to challenge the world’s perception of what their country’s art can be. But to understand this exhibition, you first have to understand the woman behind it all — an IT professional by day, but a painter and a curator by night — who believes that art, above all, should feel like play.

That Ukrainian artists today carry new ideas, new languages, and new ways of seeing. I want to let people know that Ukrainian artists also have new ideas and perspectives. We’re not old school. It just feels different. We have so many stereotypes and propaganda from other countries. That’s why I want to have human connections. With the internet, people tend to generalise everyone within the country, until you start to research and meet real people from that place. Then, you’ll begin to understand that it’s not as it seems.