Migrants Got Talent: Alexandra Dikaia from Ukraine

Aleksandra Dikaia is a Ukrainian illustrator, writer, blogger, and owner of a publishing house, who also runs an online school for creative people, helping them grow their social media presence. She finished her first book of illustrations when she was five years old, later received a degree in industrial design, and after several years in the field (she designed airplanes, cars, furniture), she entered the IT sector as a graphic designer. She started focusing more on her social media profile around the same time, and today she has more than 120 thousand Instagram followers. It's no wonder that the first print run of her debut children's book sold out in six minutes.

She also has a young child, so when the war broke out, the question was not if she should leave her homeland, but whether to move to Hungary or to Bulgaria – her two options. She chose Bulgaria because she has a good friend from Ukraine who lives here, but also because her own grandmother used to live in the country and only had good things to say about it. In her first month here, Alexandra was in shock and only noticed the bad things – Sofia seemed dirty to her, especially with a small child who wants to touch everything. Now, she says that she likes Bulgaria because of all the people on the streets who are always offering to help her and showing their support.

"I'm one of those people who always have their own vision for things," she says about herself. That is why she started a publishing house and keeps her work as independent as possible. She believes that being present on social media is crucial for artists today. It makes you more visible and engaging, but it also allows you to receive feedback and support from your fans. At first, she would spend five hours a day on her profiles, but today she only spends two hours on Instagram, mostly because she likes to respond to everyone who writes to her. The war made her realize how art can be healing. Her illustrations about Ukraine emphasized hope and faith rather than hatred. "My path in life is to love, not to hate," she concludes.

More at @аlexandradikaia

For more than ten years, Multi Kulti Collective has been a hospitable Bulgarian hub for refugees and migrants who enter our local Kafkaesque reality. The organization helps with integration (when such help is needed) and actively works with foreigners in Bulgaria, and along the way, has accumulated an ever-expanding database of interesting characters. This naturally led to their new initiative "Migrants got talent." Its goal is to acquaint the larger Bulgarian society with foreigners with captivating stories, talents and professions, and to show that migrants are an asset and not a burden to Bulgaria.