Tamara Ryzhenko
CAF awarded Ukrainian artist, activist, and writer Tamara Ryzhenko a grant for a “Calf Named Tina,” a series of comics about a calf—in Ukrainian, veal is telyatina and calf telya—who is shipped to the slaughterhouse, escapes, and finds shelter at an animal sanctuary. Tamara seeks to address the ignorance that many people choose to display over where their food comes from, particularly in the dairy industry, and how our daily decisions on whom or what we eat or drink impact many creatures. Tamara leads Every Animal, a vegan animal rights organization in Ukraine dedicated to spreading the vegan message and consolidating the vegan movement. Currently, the organization provides vegan food to civilians and soldiers who are vegan and want to stay true to their principles despite the challenges of the war. Tamara lives in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Tamara was interviewed on the Our Hen House podcast (September 3, 2022). Listen to it here.
September 2023 Update:
Tamara has finished creating and publishing her comics in Ukrainian. They can be viewed as Instagram stories and on Facebook. Tamara has also created cartoons for “Calf Named Tina” that can be viewed on Instagram and Tiktok. To further publicize “Calf Named Tina,” Tamara plans to print the comics and distribute them at offline events, such as the vegan charity festival.
