Olena Bahonovets is a Ukrainian-born artist currently based in New Westminster, British Columbia.
Before relocating to Canada, Olena worked as an early childhood educator and art teacher in Ukraine, where she also developed her artistic practice. She created commissioned oil portraits and participated in local exhibitions, building her path as a visual artist alongside her teaching work.
At the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Olena was pregnant with her second child. Shortly after giving birth, and when her baby was only 10 days old, she was forced to leave her home country with her two young children and relatives, beginning a long period of displacement and rebuilding.
While in Romania, she organized small creative workshops for her family and children around her, using art as a way to create calm, connection, and emotional support during uncertainty.
After arriving in Canada, painting became both a grounding practice and a form of emotional expression. Her work explores themes of resilience, memory, motherhood, and transformation through watercolor, oil painting, and expressive portraiture.
Inspired by her personal journey and the landscapes of British Columbia, Olena continues to develop her artistic practice in Canada and contributes to the local art community through participation and creative workshops.
