Today we’d like to introduce you to Lev Omelchenko
Lev, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I was born in Ukraine and lived there for 9 years. Some of my strongest childhood memories are spending time with my mother parents who lived in a small city in East Ukaine, and with my father’s parents who had a small farm in rural Ukraine. My parents encouraged visual arts from a young age.
We immigrated when I was 9, with my parents, sister and my mother’s parents. I grew up in Bay Ridge a multicultural neighborhood deep in Brooklyn. My interests shifted to math and science, since arts education was lackluster and expensive.
I graduated Boston College with a B.S. in Biology, but in the last year of study my attention shifted back to visual arts and I began experimenting with film. By the time I graduated, my main focus was making films, working on my own experimental and narrative work, as well as documentary/promotional work with local non-profits.
My cousin gifted me an old rusted 2000 Ford Windstar Minivan. I was tired of the cold, loaded up the van and moved to Atlanta. In the 2+ years I’ve lived here my focus has been collaborations with artists and activists of Atlanta. In addition to my film work, I am part of a team of artists that have helped sustain The Bakery, a 23k sq. ft arts complex.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
My film work is driven by collaborations with local artists and utilization of unusual and forgotten spaces. I play with questions of modern rediscovery of ancient and sacred modes of existing, community vs individualism and the importance of diversity for imagination.
I believe that capitalism along with current modes of government and crisis management are inadequate to meet the needs of the people, and advocate for institutional change within and outside of the electoral politics. Art should consider these questions and address them.
What responsibility, if any, do you think artists have to use their art to help alleviate problems faced by others? Has your art been affected by issues you’ve concerned about?
The role of the artists is to be engaged, sensitive and proactive. The Artist has a responsibility to imagine alternative realities. Realities where we are healthier, where we are free. For these alternative realities to have a chance at manifestation, for them to be legitimate and Powerful, they have to be rooted in a deep understanding of where we are today. Otherwise they are naive and egoistic.
First and foremost, we have to listen. We are all sick – our culture makes us physically, mentally and spiritually unwell. We have to listen to the people most directly affected by systems of oppression to understand what, how and where the sickness is manifesting itself. It’s not enough to say that Greed is killing us. We have to understand how Power manifests itself in city planning, in financial systems, in technological access, in the daily propaganda to understand what really needs to be changed.
To heal ourselves, we have to heal others. It’s a communal activity. Art has to be grounded in the present, so as to have a potential to change the future. Art has a ritualistic component both in creation and experience. It makes abstract truths real and felt. It has the potential to purge us of certain deep-rooted ideas and open our souls to the good.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
Website: www.levomel.com
Patreon: http://patreon.com/levomel
Instagram: lev.omel
FB: Levomel
Paypal: lev.omelchenko
Contact Info:
- Website: www.levomel.com
- Email: lev.omelchenko@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lev.omel
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/levomel/
Image Credit:
Katy Beltran
Brandon English
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
