When Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the response of Olga Oleksenko, a former Van Cleef & Arpels executive, collector and arts patron, was not to retreat, but to create. “In the first months of the war, we were all in shock,” she recalls. “Then, one day, I started to think about beauty again. Supporting Ukrainian jewellery art became something deeply personal to me — my way to pull myself out of the chaos and back into a world of creation. It was my own form of resistance, not armed but artistic.”
From that impulse, Strong & Precious, a charitable art foundation and educational programme, was born. Oleksenko and participating designers will present their most significant New York exhibition to date at the Ukrainian Institute of America on November 19-21, during NYC Jewelry Week.
The initiative was first shown at the jewellery fair GemGenève in Switzerland in May 2022. “At that moment our main goal was simply to be heard,” says Oleksenko. “There was no budget, no concept, only my connections from years in the industry. I just wanted to tell the world that Ukrainian jewellers exist and that we are a nation that creates rather than destroys.”
What began as a gesture of visibility has since matured into a structured cultural movement. Inesa Kovalova, the programme director, describes Strong & Precious as “a form of cultural diplomacy”. She joined the project in its earliest days, originally as a designer. “Our focus has expanded,” she explains. “We are now building an organisation that nurtures the future of the Ukrainian jewellery industry, from education and mentorship to grants and international representation. Ukraine has immense potential and, with long-term support, our jewellery scene can truly flourish on the global stage.”
