A multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans performance, drawing, time-based media, curation, collaborative work, explores complex issues ranging from consumerism to plant culture, and from feminism to living in conflict zones. She is based in Muzhychi, Ukraine, 26 kilometers from Kyiv. Born in 1973 in Zhdanivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine (then the USSR) – an area known for coal mining, it experienced profound and chaotic changes in Ukraine from the Soviet era to the unbalanced environment afterward, including the undeclared war between Russia and Ukraine.

Alevtina Kakhidze attended the National Academy of Fine Art and Architecture in Kyiv (1999-2004) and the Jan van Eyck Academy in the Netherlands (2004-2006). She is United Nations Tolerance Envoy in Ukraine since 2018, “State of the ART(ist)” as Honorary Mentions by Ars Electronica and the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2023), Women in Arts Award – 2023 , UN Women Ukraine, the Kazimir Malevich Artist Award winner in 2008, first prize winner of the Competition for Young Curators and Artists (Kyiv, Center for Contemporary Art at NaUKMA in 2002).

Kakhidze is a participant in many international and Ukrainian art projects, among which are significant ones such as participation in the International Biennial of Contemporary Art Manifesta 10 during the occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, the 7th Berlin Biennale, which was purely political; a project for the Moroccan Pavilion within the 54th Venice Biennale titled "Working for Change"; personal projects in Ukraine, including "Room Without Doors" at Pinchuk Art Centre, "You're at home in Volodymyr Alevtin Suzi Penelope" at the art center "Ya Gallery"; and "I am late for a plane for which can not be late for" thanks to Rinat Akhmetov's foundation grant program "i3." She is the author of the project "Strawberry Andreevna," which tells the story of life in the uncontrolled territory of Ukraine.

On December 4, 2022, Russian authorities detained Crimean Tatar Leniie Umerova after crossing the Georgian-Russian border, supposedly for violating the rules of the restricted zone. Leniie was traveling from Kyiv to the occupied Crimea due to the deteriorating health of her father, who has cancer. Until March 16, the Russian authorities have kept Leniie in captivity. The Russians accused her of allegedly “violating the regime of the state border” and compiled a series of administrative protocols. The first time, she supposedly did not submit her documents; then, allegedly, she refused to hand over her phone, and subsequently, twice for “not leaving the car and resisting”. Several times, she was sentenced to 15 days of administrative arrest. On May 5, 2023, the Lefortovo Court in Moscow arrested Crimean Tatar Leniie Umerova on suspicion of so-called “state treason”. A year has passed since Leniie was detained by Russian security forces. The court extended her arrest until January 2024, and these are the latest known news.

Alevtina Kakhidze has repeatedly addressed in her works the issue of those unlawfully imprisoned by the occupiers in Crimea – a large number of political prisoners,  Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar activists, as well as the peaceful population that continues to resist the Russian occupation regime. This and similar artist`s works reflect her personal acquaintance with these people: 'To comprehend anything, to have the ability to reflect on it, I need to paint these events, people, and their stories – that's how I create visual notes. The artist emphasizes these situations, making their stories visible.