European Young Leaders (#EYL40)

Lithuanian publisher Ūla Ambrasaitė has been on a mission to produce books that bring authors and readers together in a living social network. She founded the LAPAS publishing house in 2013 with a focus on architecture, humanities, arts and literature, providing opportunities for young authors and creating books that enrich the space around them. Ambrasaitė is a Board Member at the Lithuanian Publishers Association. In 2013 she founded the EDIT Street Art Festival, the first of its kind in Lithuania. As curator and director, Ambrasaitė attracted top international artists to the festival in Vilnius and Klaipeda. She continues to curate while exploring creative financial and philanthropic investments in cultural enterprises.

Robert Dacešin is a Bosnian author, travel guide and blogger. In 2022, his short video “Why Bosnia and Herzegovina can be the number one tourist destination in the world”, which he created with minimal funding, won the award for World’s Best Tourist Film by the International Committee of Tourism Film Festivals (CIFFT). With a background in digital marketing, Dacešin has penned five books: three guides to Bosnia and Herzegovina, including one about his hometown of Banja Luka, and two travel novels about his trips through South America and Asia. Dacešin regularly shares his travel stories with a wide audience through his blog and social networks, including a YouTube channel with over 200K subscribers. In addition, he officiated at more than 20 international tennis tournaments, featuring renowned players such as Nadal, Murray, Del Potro, and others.

Kosta Karakashyan is a Bulgarian-Armenian director, choreographer, writer and activist. Karakashyan’s work includes film, video, dance, theatre and immersive performances that often confront social issues including LGBTQ+ rights in Eastern Europe, mental health and the climate. His Studio Karakashyan made the award-winning documentary dance film “Waiting for Color” about LGBTQ+ persecution in Chechnya. He is the creator of Bulgarian LGBTQ+ community platform Out.bg. As a dancer and choreographer, Karakashyan has collaborated with singer Rita Ora, worked with clients from Calvin Klein to Disneyland, and performed on TV and stage around the world.

Hajdana Kostić is a painter, illustrator and graphic designer from Montenegro. Her work hangs on walls around the world, including in the private collections of stars like John Malkovich, Keanu Reeves and will.i.am. Kostić rose to national fame after winning Montenegro’s 2023 Red Bull Doodle Art competition. Recent projects include illustrations to adorn London’s Megaro Hotel; covers for Air Serbia’s in-flight magazine and an exhibition exploring boundaries between humanity and technology. Kostić’s clients include VISA and UNICEF; and her street art decorates Montenegro’s capital and coastal cities. She also uses art to raise funding for war victims and other charitable causes.

Hana Ostan-Ožbolt-Haas is a Slovenian art historian, curator and writer whose work connects art with social and cultural issues. Born in Ljubljana, and now living in Vienna, she directed the ULAY Foundation, where she organised exhibitions in collaboration with leading international art institutions such as the Stedelijk Museum and Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Her curatorial projects address intergenerational and socially relevant themes, fostering dialogue among diverse perspectives. Alongside her curatorial practice, she writes for international publications, including Artforum, Frieze and ArtReview, and contributes to shaping the field of contemporary art through her involvement in education, jury work for art awards and organisational leadership.

Czech multimedia artist Eliska Podzimkova has used humour, technical prowess and a unique design sense to forge an international career as a pioneering animator, illustrator and digital creator. Blending live-action photography, video and hand-drawn animation, she has produced award-winning films, music videos and marketing campaigns, including for Vogue Magazine and chef Jamie Oliver.  She illustrated a new Czech edition of “The Little Prince.” After a stint working at the New York Film Academy, she is back in Prague where her experience as a teenage cancer survivor inspired the “Baldies” project to support sick kids, from animated films to designer sneakers.

Jakub Skrzywanek, from Poland, is one of Europe’s most exciting theatre artists. His radical work spotlights social and political themes, from the rise of far-right politics, to homophobia, class inequalities and the adolescent psychiatric crisis. He made international headlines with a drama adapting language from Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” to highlight the creeping normalisation of extremist discourse. Uzbek authorities tried unsuccessfully to shut down the premiere in Tashkent of his drama “Underground Girls”, which focuses on the plight of refugee Afghan women. Among Skrzywanek’s most recent works, the “Death of John Paul II” and “Spartacus. Love in the Time of Plague” captured Poland’s top directing award.