Tatiana Laponkina
Tel Aviv, Israel
Graphic Artist, Illustrator & Teacher
Graphic Artist, Illustrator & Teacher
Liberi Ludi Creative Space
Maria Tochkina
Batumi, Georgia
Graphic Designer, Illustrator & Animator
Graphic Designer, Illustrator & Animator
Polina Tronchyk
Śrem, Poland
Animator, Illustrator, Educator, and PhD Researcher
Animator, Illustrator, Educator, and PhD Researcher
Eric Shur
Paris, France
Journalist & Children's Publisher
Journalist & Children's Publisher
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Tatiana Laponkina
Tel Aviv, Israel
Graphic Artist, Illustrator & Teacher
Graphic Artist, Illustrator & Teacher
Maria Tochkina
Batumi, Georgia
Graphic Designer, Illustrator & Animator
Graphic Designer, Illustrator & Animator
Polina Tronchyk
Śrem, Poland
Animator, Illustrator, Educator, and PhD Researcher
Animator, Illustrator, Educator, and PhD Researcher
Eric Shur
Paris, France
Journalist & Children's Publisher
Journalist & Children's Publisher
Join the Liberi Ludi community if you are an artist, an art educator, a creative workshop facilitator, or a teacher already working, or wishing to work, with children in situations of migration, and supporting their social integration through art, storytelling, and animation.
Liberi Ludi offers methodological support, shared practice, and a space for professional exchange between educators and creative practitioners working in this field. If you would like to take part in one of our programmes, or if you already have a project of your own aimed at the cultural and social integration of migrant children, our association can also help you shape it into grant applications and other funding opportunities.
Tatiana Laponkina
Tel Aviv, Israel
Profession
Graphic Artist, Illustrator, Teacher
Role in Liberi Ludi
Artist, Tutor
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I have been running creative sessions with children of all ages for a very long time. As a volunteer I work with charities, and I have run creative intensives, master classes and courses. In the Liberi Ludi project, both as a teacher and as an artist, I will be glad to share my experience with children and make their life in a new country brighter and happier.
Current Professional Activity
Creative sessions with children of different ages: intensives, master classes and courses; volunteer work with charities
Creative Achievements
Graduate of the Stroganov Moscow State Academy of Design and Applied Arts and of the Boris Trofimov Studio. Takes part in Russian and international exhibitions and competitions in illustration and graphic art.
Liberi Ludi Activities
• Creation of artistic content supporting the development and social inclusion of children in a new country through storytelling and animation
• Illustrations for educational and children’s publications designed for work with children in a new country
• Running after-school groups and art sections in animation and storytelling to support the adaptation of children in a new country
• Cultural projects within extracurricular education aimed at the social inclusion of children in a new country
Languages
• Russian (native)
• English (B2)
Eric Shur
Paris, France
Profession
Journalist
Role in Liberi Ludi
Artist / Tutor
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I have been publishing children's magazines for children learning foreign languages since the early 2000s. In 2022 I relocated from Russia and saw first-hand how children adapt to a new linguistic and cultural environment, and the role that art plays in that process. I consider our experience at that stage a real success, and it led me to launch the Babiling Animation Kit magazine, in which I brought together my own experience and that of fellow artists who had been through relocation and helped children along the way.
Current Professional Activity
Publisher of children's press
Creative Achievements
Founder and director of 'Chastny Korrespondent', named the best website on the Russian internet in the 'Culture and Mass Communications' category in 2012.
Liberi Ludi Activities
• Editing of pedagogical and children's literature
• Production of artistic content for the development and social inclusion of children adapting to a new country, through storytelling and animation
• Cultural projects within non-formal education aimed at the social inclusion of children in a new country
Languages
• Russian (mother tongue)
• Belarusian (fluent)
• English (fluent)
• French (B2)
• Hebrew (basic)
Polina Tronchyk
Śrem, Poland
Profession
Animator, Illustrator, Educator, and PhD Researcher
Role in Liberi Ludi
Artist / Teacher
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I am a multi-disciplinary animator, illustrator, and educator whose work operates at the intersection of material innovation, community activism, and academic research. As an independent creator, I develop the Portable Animation Studio: a tactile stop-motion box that simplifies filmmaking for children of all ages. My focus is on using this tool in social and humanitarian settings, helping refugee children process displacement, unite, and adapt to their new society through stop-motion storytelling.
Current Professional Activity
I am developing my custom-built Portable Animation Studio box, which I actively use to teach stop-motion animation to children of diverse age groups and origins. I am currently preparing to deliver a series of animation masterclasses for refugee youth in Belgium in partnership with Hand-in-Hand Gent, focused on facilitating social integration and cultural adaptation.
Creative Achievements
Designed, commercialised, and launched the Portable Animation Studio on Etsy as a fully functional toolkit for young creators. Initiated a collaborative partnership to use the studio box for animating stories and cutouts. Cultivated international educational initiatives, including upcoming integration masterclasses for displaced children in Ghent, Belgium, and secured a PhD position at Adam Mickiewicz University to advance research in animation theory within British literature.
Liberi Ludi Activities
• Creation of artistic content supporting the development and social inclusion of migrant children through storytelling and animation
• Illustrations for educational and children’s publications designed for work with migrant children
• Teaching storytelling with the involvement of migrant students as a tool for cultural adaptation
• Teaching foreign languages through art- and storytelling-based adaptation methods in mixed classrooms
• Leading animation courses within arts education programmes to support adaptation and inclusion in mixed classrooms involving migrant children
Languages
• Russian (native)
• Ukrainian (native)
• English (fluent)
• French (fluent)
• Polish (advanced)
Maria Tochkina
Batumi, Georgia
Profession
Graphic Designer, Illustrator, Animator
Role in Liberi Ludi
Artist
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I have many years of experience creating illustrations for children’s and adult audiences, including for Children’s Radio (Detskoe Radio). I also create original images for international stock platforms and continue to grow as a commercial illustrator. I hold a university degree in graphic design and professional training in computer graphics and animation.
I live in emigration myself, I face the difficulties of this situation and understand how important it is to have support, the chance not to be left alone with your troubles. I want to take part in the programme because I believe creativity and humour are an accessible way to make the hard period of adaptation a little easier and more fun.
Current Professional Activity
Freelance illustrator
Creative Achievements
I do not devote much attention to public activity and prefer to concentrate on the work itself. I last took part in an exhibition in 2021: my illustration series Bryansk-Sever was shortlisted in the Illustration as Reaction competition at the Mors festival and shown at LiteraTula, a book festival of contemporary children’s and young adult literature. My main focus today is commercial illustration.
Liberi Ludi Activities
• Creation of artistic content supporting the development and social inclusion of migrant children through storytelling and animation
• Illustrations for educational and children’s publications designed for work with migrant children
Languages
• Russian (native)
• English (B2)
tab to see more
Tatiana Laponkina
Profession
Graphic Artist, Illustrator, Teacher
Current Professional Activity
Creative sessions with children of different ages: intensives, master classes and courses; volunteer work with charities
Creative Achievements
Graduate of the Stroganov Moscow State Academy of Design and Applied Arts and of the Boris Trofimov Studio. Takes part in Russian and international exhibitions and competitions in illustration and graphic art.
Role in Liberi Ludi
Artist, Tutor
I have been running creative sessions with children of all ages for a very long time. As a volunteer I work with charities, and I have run creative intensives, master classes and courses. In the Liberi Ludi project, both as a teacher and as an artist, I will be glad to share my experience with children and make their life in a new country brighter and happier.
Liberi Ludi Activities
• Creation of artistic content supporting the development and social inclusion of children in a new country through storytelling and animation
• Illustrations for educational and children’s publications designed for work with children in a new country
• Running after-school groups and art sections in animation and storytelling to support the adaptation of children in a new country
• Cultural projects within extracurricular education aimed at the social inclusion of children in a new country
Languages
• Russian (native)
• English (B2)
tab to see more
Maria Tochkina
Batumi, Georgia
Profession
Graphic Designer, Illustrator, Animator
Current Professional Activity
Freelance illustrator
Creative Achievements
I do not devote much attention to public activity and prefer to concentrate on the work itself. I last took part in an exhibition in 2021: my illustration series Bryansk-Sever was shortlisted in the Illustration as Reaction competition at the Mors festival and shown at LiteraTula, a book festival of contemporary children’s and young adult literature. My main focus today is commercial illustration.
Role in Liberi Ludi
Artist
I have many years of experience creating illustrations for children’s and
adult audiences, including for Children’s Radio (Detskoe Radio). I also
create original images for international stock platforms and continue to grow as a
commercial illustrator. I hold a university degree in graphic design and
professional training in computer graphics and animation.
I live in
emigration myself, I face the difficulties of this situation and understand how
important it is to have support, the chance not to be left alone with your troubles. I
want to take part in the programme because I believe creativity and humour are an
accessible way to make the hard period of adaptation a little easier and more fun.
Liberi Ludi Activities
• Creation of artistic content supporting the development and social inclusion
of migrant children through storytelling and animation
• Illustrations for educational and children’s publications designed for
work with migrant children
Languages
• Russian (native)
• English (B2)
tab to see more
Polina Tronchyk
Śrem, Poland
Profession
Animator, Illustrator, Educator, and PhD Researcher
Current Professional Activity
I am developing my custom-built Portable Animation Studio box, which I actively use to teach stop-motion animation to children of diverse age groups and origins. I am currently preparing to deliver a series of animation masterclasses for refugee youth in Belgium in partnership with Hand-in-Hand Gent, focused on facilitating social integration and cultural adaptation.
Creative Achievements
Designed, commercialised, and launched the Portable Animation Studio on Etsy as a fully functional toolkit for young creators. Initiated a collaborative partnership to use the studio box for animating stories and cutouts. Cultivated international educational initiatives, including upcoming integration masterclasses for displaced children in Ghent, Belgium, and secured a PhD position at Adam Mickiewicz University to advance research in animation theory within British literature.
Role in Liberi Ludi
Artist / Teacher
I am a multi-disciplinary animator, illustrator, and educator whose work operates at the intersection of material innovation, community activism, and academic research. As an independent creator, I develop the Portable Animation Studio: a tactile stop-motion box that simplifies filmmaking for children of all ages. My focus is on using this tool in social and humanitarian settings, helping refugee children process displacement, unite, and adapt to their new society.
Liberi Ludi Activities
• Creation of artistic content supporting the development and social inclusion of migrant children through storytelling and animation
• Illustrations for educational and children’s publications designed for work with migrant children
• Teaching storytelling with the involvement of migrant students as a tool for cultural adaptation
• Teaching foreign languages through art- and storytelling-based adaptation methods in mixed classrooms
• Leading animation courses within arts education programmes to support adaptation and inclusion in mixed classrooms involving migrant children
Languages
• Russian (native)
• Ukrainian (native)
• English (fluent)
• French (fluent)
• Polish (advanced)
tab to see more
Eric Shur
Paris, France
Profession
Journalist
Current Professional Activity
Publisher of children's press
Creative Achievements
Founder and director of 'Chastny Korrespondent', named the best website on the Russian internet in the 'Culture and Mass Communications' category in 2012.
Role in Liberi Ludi
Artist / Tutor
I have been publishing children's magazines for children learning foreign languages since the early 2000s.
In 2022 I relocated from Russia and saw first-hand how children adapt to a new linguistic and cultural environment, and the role that art plays in that process. I consider our experience at that stage a real success, and it led me to launch the Babiling Animation Kit magazine, in which I brought together my own experience and that of fellow artists who had been through relocation and helped children along the way.
Liberi Ludi Activities
• Editing of pedagogical and children's literature
• Production of artistic content for the development and social inclusion of children adapting to a new country, through storytelling and animation
• Cultural projects within non-formal education aimed at the social inclusion of children in a new country
Languages
• Russian
• Belarusian
• English
• French
• Hebrew
