Artist Yulii Sheinis’s holy of holies is located on the grounds of the Kyivan Cave Monastery in a small two-storied structure that houses another 28 studios with good pictures hanging on dingy, peeling walls. The executive of the artists’ union recently raised the rent on these studios almost five times. The situation is only slightly better in other areas of the capital, where rents have been increased only twice or three times.
In the early 1990s the Kyiv authorities decided to charge the same rent for artists’ studios as for small businesses. Thanks to the activism of the National Union of Ukrainian Artists, in 1997 the Kyiv City Council passed the law “On Professional Artists and Creative Associations,” which spelled out that members of such associations should be furnished with studios or rooms rented on a short-term basis.
“That was a triumph. The artists applauded the members of the executive,” Sheinis recalls. But by 2002 the union’s executive adopted a new resolution stating that studios were to be paid for according to their actual cost. For instance, Sheinis had to pay 250 hryvnias a month, instead of the customary 50, for a studio measuring 33 meters until 2006.
“At first they said we had run up a large electricity bill, so I had to pay more,” says the artist. “Actually, each time the debt was becoming a norm. This went on until I went to see Kyivenerho. It turned out that our electricity bills were much lower than the ones the union was sending us. In the last while some of our money was being deducted as fees for locksmiths, cleaners, and electricians. But in the 40 years that I have worked in this studio I have seen workers here only once — when the sewer backed up. I had to fix all the problems in my studio myself. The resulting situation infuriated all the artists, but most of them prefer to keep quiet. In the meantime, the bosses are trying to pass all the maintenance expenses onto us.”
Sheinis decided not to keep quiet: he began writing endless letters to the executive, asking for an explanation of the rent increase. He received only one reply. “In order not to offend the artists, we asked an independent auditing firm to do an expert examination. The auditors confirmed that the pricing policy was legal. There is no reason why we shouldn’t believe it,” says Volodymyr Zinchenko, deputy chairman of the artists’ union in charge of economic matters. A copy of the auditing firm’s findings was sent to Sheinis, who also disagree with the report. “I am sure this document is also forged. Imagine: in order to find the desired figure in the calculations, they reduced the building’s area by 300 meters.”
The members of the artists’ union are taking a calm view of these statements: they claim that the auditors failed to take into account the basement, which has an area more than 600 sq. m. The union owes the Kyivan Cave Monastery about UAH 100,000 for the rent on this basement. But the artists claim that they had to pay for the basement, too, even though they only use part of it.
“I don’t think it was possible to forge those documents. At least I don’t have any documented proof. I am aware that, at first glance, the executive’s behavior may look like a scam. Unfortunately, the artists never pay their electricity bills, which create huge debts. At the same time, the artists only pay 25 percent of all studio maintenance and rental fees. The remaining costs are offset by the union,” Zinchenko explains.
“The state does not give us any public utility exemptions. The government can only suggest that the local authorities reduce by a certain amount. As of today, only Kyiv and Odesa have agreed to make these kinds of concessions. But in Luhansk, for example, they pay 4.75 hryvnias for heating. I can understand, though, that you can’t possibly see what’s going on in the state from a studio window.”
In spite of everything, the executive of the National Union of Ukrainian Artists intends to continue raising the rent on studios. The next increase will probably be next year. “The union does not have the money to pay for everything. The buildings are in terrible condition: suppose the roof caves in tomorrow, what then?” the union explains.
Sheinis plans to stand his ground. He is now paying rent on his studio, according to his own assessment. Incidentally, it is 83 hryvnias lower than the rent bills that the union keeps sending. The artist is not afraid to lose his studio for breaking the lease. Getting to the bottom of the situation is a matter of principle.
“Artists founded the artists’ union to serve their own interests. Many generations have worked for the union’s benefit. It used to be a powerful organization,” Sheinis recalls, “and it was always assumed that the union means help and protection. This was the norm. Now the union exists apart from the artists. The 1997 law has been deep-sixed. Meanwhile, more and more new provisions are appearing in the union’s statute, by no means in the artists’ favor.”
