Sand Fairy Oksana Merhut: From Participating in Golden Time Talent to Touring the UK

Oksana Merhut is a Ukrainian sand animation artist who continues to amaze audiences not only in Ukraine but around the world with her art. In September 2024, Oksana became one of the winners of the UK talent competition Golden Time Talent and embarked on a tour across British cities. Oksana’s goal is to introduce Ukraine to Britain and share the reality of what is happening in Ukraine since the start of russia’s full-scale invasion. Learn more about her participation in Golden Time Talents, her tour across British cities, and the highly anticipated Christmas tour in our article.

THE UKRAINIAN SAND FAIRY: THE BEGINNING OF HER CAREER AND THE CREATION OF HER OWN STUDIO

Oksana Merhut dedicated a part of her life to teaching, and when the time came to start her own business, she decided to combine her teaching skills with her creativity. Fascinated by the art of sand animation, she chose this field as the focus of her venture. Interestingly, it all began with a small sand table she used for physical activity breaks with children at an arts academy. A crucial reason behind Oksana’s choice of this direction was the positive impact these activities had on children’s psychological well-being. Thus, in 2014, Ukraine’s first professional sand animation studio was born.

GOLDEN TIME TALENT: UKRAINIAN SAND FAIRY WINS IN BRITAIN WITH TWO ANIMATIONS

Oksana, without hesitation, accepted the invitation from the British competition Golden Time Talent to participate in the annual winners' festival following her victory with two sand animations, "Falcon" and "Ballad of a Mother" by Olesya Ravlyuk.

After receiving the invitation, Oksana promptly arranged visas for herself and her daughter to travel to Britain, arriving in London on September 14. The role of the technical director for Oksana Merhut's show was performed by her daughter, Olena Merhut.

Golden Time Talent is a global leader in organizing competitions and festivals for creative groups and solo performers at the international level. Their mission is to develop and promote unique, talented individuals from around the world.

On September 15, Oksana was the first to perform on stage, due to the technical setup required for her equipment. Her sand animation, titled "We Will Win", carried profound symbolism given the ongoing decade-long war of russia against Ukraine. The emotions expressed by the British audience will stay with Oksana forever. Sand animation was truly a wonder for them.

The festival featured representatives from 25 countries, while the Golden Time Talent competition itself had participants from 71 countries. A significant goal for Oksana was to shed light on the current events in Ukraine. Despite the weight of the subject matter, the Ukrainian Sand Fairy received strong support from the judges and the president of Golden Time Talent, Inessa Biliy.

TOUR ACROSS BRITISH CITIES: HIGHLIGHTING TO BRITISH PEOPLE THE ISSUE OF RUSSIA'S WAR AGAINST UKRAINE

After presenting her works at Golden Time Talent, Oksana decided not to stop there. She embarked on a tour across cities in Britain to share the story of what is happening in Ukraine.

On September 14, with the support of charitable organizations, she began her series of charity concerts across Britain. The first city on her tour was Honiton, and the final stop was London. With the money raised during the concerts, Oksana and her team purchased 12 devices to enhance Ukraine air defense systems. According to Oksana, the tour across the cities of the United Kingdom was organized with the help of several charitable organizations, founders and volunteers – the East Devon District Council, Olga Andriyenko, Tetyana Gaponenko; the founder of the Bristol Ukrainian School with Ukraine Aid and Welfare – Antonina Grebeniuk; volunteers of charity organization "Cardiff for Ukraine", Olha Bakar, Anastasiia Kovtun, Helen McCadie; the founder of charitable foundation "Sanflowers Wales" – Dmytro Finkelshtein, Oksana Shapovalova; AUGB Manchester, Bohdan Sopel, the couple Oksana and Wolodymyr Kowalyszyn; the group of volunteers of Western Somerset "Zerno Aid for Ukraine" and the organizer Galyna Tryndyuk; AUGB London, "Women Fight 4you"; the photographer – Dmytro Malenko; "Ukrainer in Trier e.v" – the director Yuriy Skobel, Nadiya Ilyasova and Anna Zorinova and many others. Oksana Merhut's charitable tour was also supported by the British media.Their mission is to develop and promote unique, talented individuals from around the world. In addition to performing in nine cities, Oksana also participated in two charity events in London and performed in Luxembourg at the "Symphony of Ukrainian Statehood" event on Cossacks' Day.

CHRISTMAS TOUR: OKSANA TO VISIT GERMANY AND THE UK AS PART OF HER SHOW

Oksana Mergut's Christmas Tour to Begin in Bautzen, Germany, on November 26. This year, Ukrainian sand art fairy Oksana Mergut will enchant audiences with a magical retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen and Christmas. A unique feature of the show is its transition from the famous Danish fairy tale to the celebration of a traditional Ukrainian Christmas, complete with Ukrainian carols.

Oksana Mergut's Christmas show will visit the following cities:

In Germany:

• Bautzen - November 26, 2024
• Hoyerswerda - November 27, 2024

In England:

• Gloucester - December 5, 2024
• Bath - December 6, 2024
• Hereford - December 7, 2024
• Birmingham - December 12, 2024
• Warrington - December 13, 2024
• Sheffield - December 14, 2024
• Nottingham - December 14, 2024
• Liverpool - December 15, 2024

In Wales:

• Swansea - December 10, 2024
• Cardiff - December 11, 2024

A delightful surprise will be a workshop in Swansea for Ukrainian children, scheduled for December 10, 2024.

The planned tour by Oksana Merhut is a charitable initiative. The organization of all tours is made possible through the active support of British and German volunteer organizations.

Pictures were taken by Olena Kalinina Golden Time Talent