Explain to me what you do like I'm five years old.
I work in art where artists use technology and space instead of paint and canvas. A lot of this art only exists for a short time and afterwards, you can only see it in photos and videos. My job is to help make it happen: sometimes by curating or producing a project, sometimes by bringing the right artists into it. These days I mostly work on the artist’s side, helping with everything from production to getting a visa for the next exhibition.
What are you working on right now?
Right now, my attention goes in three directions: curation, education and Papillon’s, the agency I started a year ago. For now, it’s a one-person agency — I do everything, including social media and that actually feels very natural. The roster is small, but I’m incredibly proud of it: TUNDRA, Riccardo Giovinetto, and a few friends I work with project by project.
How did you get here?
12 years ago I started as a VJ, but pretty quickly became more curious about the bigger picture, so I moved into production at multimedia studios and galleries, and later became a co-founder and curator of Intervals festival. At some point I realised I’d spent most of my career on the organiser’s side and wanted to understand how to support artists better. So I joined a course by Berlin-based agency LittleBig with the idea of bringing some of the music industry’s agency culture into media art. It turned out to be not quite as simple in practice, but that’s what makes it interesting.
What was the moment you nearly stopped and what kept you going?
Leaving Intervals after building it from scratch for seven years was a big reset. Moving first from Russia to Turkey, and later to the UK, made it an even bigger one. What got me moving again, I think, was the fact that this field keeps changing, so there’s always something new to explore — and, unexpectedly, teaching. Working with students and sharing what I know online and through educational programmes gave me my confidence back, and eventually artists started finding me through those same channels. Papillon’s grew very organically from there.
What do you know now that you wish was common knowledge?
Burnout doesn’t always mean you need to leave your industry and start again from zero. Sometimes you just need to change your position inside it. The same field can suddenly become interesting again from a completely different role. And all the experience and relationships you’ve built come with you.
What are you building towards that doesn't exist yet?
A proper Papillon’s project in the UK. I’m used to working internationally and remotely, but I also want to make things happen on the ground where I actually live — and the UK has been surprisingly difficult to crack. Now it’s finally becoming tangible: one project with our artists is already at an important stage for next year, and from September 12 hilights.studio will show a video artwork on a public screen in Sunderland, supported by Papillon’s. Step by step.
