New York, NY – Today Razom for Ukraine announced the inaugural cohort of the I’mmortal / Безсмертні Fellowship, Razom’s first Arts-in-Health program, developed in partnership with Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts. Drawing from 35 applications submitted by NGOs, cultural collectives, artists, clinicians, and institutional partners across Ukraine and the United States, a selection committee of field experts chose five cross-border partnerships to co-develop projects using creative practice to transform mental health, physical rehabilitation, and community reintegration. Each partnership receives an implementation grant of up to $10,000 and full residency support for a week-long in-person gathering at Wesleyan University, November 2–7, 2026, culminating in a public Capstone Showcase on November 7th in Middletown, Connecticut.

The fellowship is built on a foundational recognition: Ukraine is currently a vital frontier for innovations in trauma recovery. The I’mmortal program matches artists and healers with institutional partners, including hospitals, universities, veterans’ centers, and NGOs, to develop collaborative projects that neither partner could conceive or execute alone. The long-term goal is that projects piloted in 2026 will move into full implementation in Ukraine in 2027.

“Art has always been how people make meaning and take care of communities in the hardest moments,” said Theodora Chomiak, CEO of Razom for Ukraine. “The I’mmortal Fellowship exists to put that idea into practice, across borders, and at the highest level of attention.”

“Where science maps the trauma, the arts map our humanity, providing the truth and wisdom needed to heal,” said Katja Kolcio, Chair of the Dance Department and Professor of Environmental Studies at Wesleyan University. “By bringing these extraordinary Ukrainian and American partners to Wesleyan, we are moving creative practice from the margins of healthcare straight to the center, proving that cultural expression is a critical, rigorous pillar of health, community resilience, and our collective capacity to build a better world.”

THE 2026 COHORT

GATHERING AROUND THE FIRE: ARTS, HEALING, AND RESILIENCE 

Jessica Hecht / Alexandra Zaslav / The Campfire Project (New York, NY) x Mariana Ivanovych / Marcin Piotrowski / Folkowisko Ukraine (Nahachiv, Lviv region)

Therapeutic arts programming for children and youth in Western Ukraine, bringing together local and displaced populations to process war trauma, build resilience, and strengthen community through daily creative practice in dance, visual art, theater, and music, delivered through a trauma-informed, culturally adaptive framework. A parallel practitioner training strand, drawing on resources from the WHO and Jameel Arts and Health Lab, equips local educators and aid workers with tools they can sustain independently.

ARTSCAPES OF CARE: COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS & TOOLKIT

Nathalie Robelot-Timtchenko / Oleksandra Kliushnova / Joanna Wroblewska / First Aid of the Soul (Kyiv / Washington, D.C.) x Kerry Kincy (Middletown, CT) x Dr. Midori Samson (Lawrence, KS)

Trauma-informed, arts-based workshops for artists, community healers, educators, and mental health practitioners in the Lviv region, integrating soundscapes and deep listening, movement, visual storytelling, and embodied creative practice. The project will produce a replicable toolkit for Ukrainian organizations to continue and adapt the work independently.

RHYTHM AS REGULATION

Yekaterina Chizayeva (New Orleans, LA) x Kateryna Taranova (Kyiv/Lviv/Slavsko)

A transnational methodology exchange investigating how rhythm, through music, dance, voice, and body-based practice, can support nervous system regulation, reduce anxiety symptoms, and aid recovery from sensory disorientation caused by war-related sonic exposure. Two intensive methodology labs, one in Slavsko, Ukraine and one in New Orleans, bring together U.S. and Ukrainian artists to develop and prototype shared, cross-cultural protocols.

“ME – THE OTHER”: INCLUSIVE THEATRE & NARRATIVE RESTORATION INITIATIVE 

Deb Gottesman / The Theatre Lab – Life Stories Institute (Washington, D.C.) x Yuliia Vintoniv / Ukrainian Catholic University (Lviv)

An inclusive theatre initiative bringing together people with congenital and acquired disabilities, including those with war-related injuries, alongside students and community members to create original dramatic work from lived experience. The Theatre Lab’s over twenty years of autobiographical theatre practice meets Yuliia Vintoniv’s expertise in disability-inclusive education at Ukrainian Catholic University, with a pilot university course launching in 2027.

MOVING, IMAGINING, AND UNBROKEN

Román Baca / Exit12 Dance Company (New York, NY) x Alina Spas / Dr. Brendan Bo O’Connor / Imagination Lab (Albany, NY) x Dr. Yuliia Rozmyrska / Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University (Lutsk)

A co-authored dance and movement program designed specifically for Ukrainian combat veterans, wounded and non-wounded alike, that integrates Exit12’s proven trauma-informed methodology with surrealism-based visual arts practice. The program is not an export of an American model but a genuine co-authorship, adapted entirely for Ukraine’s cultural moment and the realities of its combatants. Pilot workshops will be conducted in the New York area before full implementation in Ukraine in 2027.

ABOUT RAZOM FOR UKRAINE

Razom for Ukraine (which means “together” in Ukrainian) is a U.S.-based nonprofit founded in 2014 that works to build a secure, prosperous, and democratic Ukraine. The organization operates across program areas including humanitarian aid, health, advocacy, and cultural initiatives, addressing both immediate needs and long-term recovery. Through Razom Connect, Razom positions culture as a vital part of its mission alongside humanitarian aid and advocacy, demonstrating that cultural visibility is essential to global understanding and solidarity.

ABOUT WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY’S CENTER FOR THE ARTS

Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts integrates world-class venues with a dedicated team of curators, producers, and technicians to advance creative practice as foundational to a liberal arts education. By bringing global artists into a dynamic relationship with the campus, the Center for the Arts supports critical research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and experimentation. At Wesleyan, the arts serve as an essential form of inquiry, teaching, and public engagement, cultivating bold thinkers who value embodied experience and community connection.

PRESS CONTACT

Rachel Shuey

rachel.shuey@razomforukraine.org

706-399-3333

razomforukraine.org