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.

This year, 93-year-old Mumine Murtaza-Karabash passed away in the occupied Crimea. Mumine was a participant in the Crimean Tatar national movement and a mother of many children, awarded the Order of "Maternal Glory" II degree. In 1944, she was deported to Uzbekistan along with her sister, but for many years, Mumine dreamed of returning home: "We witnessed such suffering, but I never erased Crimea from my heart. The mountains, gardens, the Black Sea, Uskut – we dreamed of returning to Crimea. We hoped to return to Crimea." There, she married her husband Rustem Karabash.

"In 1968, despite all the bans and obstacles created by the Soviet authorities, the Karabash family with seven children attempted to return to their homeland. For a while, they literally lived on bare ground in Victory Square in Simferopol. In fact, the Karabashes and other Crimean Tatars, who at that time sought the opportunity to settle on their own land, “squatted” the central squares and parks of Simferopol, trying to draw attention to their problem. Such a peaceful protest didn`t please the Soviets.

Crimean Tatars were beaten by the militsiya and people's Druzhinas, arrested, and forcefully deported outside Crimea. The Karabash family faced the same fate. Mumine Khanum recalled: "They grabbed my husband, took him away, put him in a car. They pressed on his shoulders so he wouldn't get up. They came to me; I put the Quran around my neck, and we started gathering our belongings... They put us on a train and deported us to Uzbekistan again."

Just 12 days after the eviction, the Karabashes were back in Crimea. The family of Mumine Murtaza-Karabash returned to Crimea three times after forced deportations. In 1970, the eighth child was born into the Karabash family – a boy. They named him Vatan, which translates as "homeland" from Crimean Tatar.”

(From the article "Не викреслила із серця Крим" ("Did Not Erase Crimea from the Heart") from February 13, 2024, in the "Історична правда" ("Historical Truth") publication)

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, activists, and 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.