2026 is a landmark year for Polina Raiko’s legacy. The European Commission and Europa Nostra have announced the winners of the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards. This is the most prestigious European award in the field of cultural heritage, which this year was presented to 30 exciting  projects and their implementers from 18 countries across the continent. A total of 261 applications were submitted for this year’s awards. Among the winners is the ‘Totem’ Centre for Cultural Development, recognised for its initiatives to preserve the art and memory of Polina Raiko in the category: ‘Public Engagement and Awareness-Raising’.

 

The winners were selected by the award jury, which comprised ten experts in the field of cultural heritage from across Europe.

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The Awards’ Jury stated: “This initiative demonstrates how cultural heritage can be safeguarded even under conditions of war and occupation. Driven largely by volunteers, it has mobilised citizens, artists and designers to document and share the work of Polina Raiko through a crowdsourced archive, publications and exhibitions. Digital tools and augmented reality allow Raiko’s damaged and inaccessible painted house to remain present and meaningful for communities today.”

 

“This is recognition not only of our organisation’s efforts, but also of the many people who have been captivated by Polina Raiko’s art – an ordinary rural woman who learnt to transform her pain and loss into beauty. Today, this is what she can teach us all.”

Olena Afanasyeva, curator of the NGO “Totem Centre for Cultural Development”

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For more than two decades, the NGO “Totem” Centre of Cultural Development, led by curator Olena Afanasieva, documented and promoted Raiko’s art. In 2023, after the Russians blew up the Kakhovka HPP and the house was flooded, and the murals were virtually destroyed, the organisation shifted its focus from protecting the physical building and assessing the damage – based on photographs provided by neighbours and the Polina Raiko Charitable Foundation, and also to preserving the memory of this unique artist by digitising her diaries, drawings and archival materials. ‘Totem’ appealed to everyone who had visited the incredible house over the years, asking them to share photographs and memories. Around 400 people from Ukraine and abroad responded to the appeal, contributing over 2,000 images to the digital archive. Based on this new, expanded archive, ‘Totem’ and Olena Afanasyeva have produced a new book, ‘Polina Raiko: Invisible’. Work on digitising and preserving this unique heritage is currently ongoing.

 

Polina Raiko. European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards