Anastasiia Kurkova, known as Stia, is a Ukrainian artist born in Mariupol, a city in Eastern Ukraine famous for being the birthplace of artist A. Kuindzhi. She began working with oils at the age of 13 and started participating in exhibitions shortly after turning 14. Her early work was featured in various exhibitions, including those at the Mariupol Kuindzhi Center of Contemporary Art and Culture starting in 2014. Kurkova won several city and regional art competitions in the Donetsk region and, in 2017, had one of her works sent to Japan for the Charity Center “Aid to the Children in the World.”
In 2019, she participated in an exhibition organized by the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture (NAFAA) in Kyiv. Her first solo exhibition, "The Color of the Soul," was held at the State Library of Ukraine for Youth in Kyiv on September 2, 2020. Later that year, she showcased her work in another solo exhibition, "Color Rhapsody," at the House-Museum of Taras Shevchenko in Kyiv.
In 2021, Kurkova was honored as one of the winners of the International Plein Air Art Competition "The Best Artist," receiving the award "For Service to Art." She also participated in exhibitions such as "St. Sophia Plein Air 2021" and “150-th Anniversary of Lesya Ukrainka” at NAFAA.
In 2022, Kurkova earned the Grand Prix at several all-Ukrainian and international art competitions, including "Christmas Ukraine," "National Talent Parade," "Etude Vernissage," and "Hands of Happiness." She is the organizer and leading artist of the "Kyivska Rus Park" art project in Kyiv. Additionally, she worked as an animator on the film "Peasants," created by Breakthru Film and based on a novel by Nobel Laureate V. Raymont.
Currently, Kurkova promotes Ukrainian-Polish cultural relations through her art. In the summer of 2023, she participated in an outdoor exhibition in Switzerland. Her works are housed in private collections across Ukraine, the USA, the UK, Germany, and Poland, and are exhibited at "Galeria Ogrodowa" and “Art Bay” in Krakow.
