ideaXme ambassador

Vladimir Zabavskiy ideaXme ambassador. ID Number: 018

Vladimir Zabavskiy is Graphic Design Director, at the National Building Museum, Washington District of Columbia.

He began drawing when he was in kindergarten but his fascination increased when he was older and able to draw humans and animals. His parents always encouraged him, especially his mother who worked at a film studio in Moscow. It was here that he became familiar with the cinematic arts. His grandfather, Arkadiy Zabavskiy, a student of Kazimir Malevich at Kiev Art Institute in the 1930s introduced him to his personal library. His vast collection of books contained visual information that, to the Soviet Union, was controversial and unwelcome at the time, much of it to do with Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art, as well as German and American Expressionists art. It was eye opening to Vladimir and he was hooked.

When he was young, music also had a huge impact on his artistic perspective. It helped him to discover happiness in a rather grey world. When he discovered classical artists like Bach, Handel, Stravinsky, and Stockhausen, he felt intense joy. Pop rock artists such as the Beatles, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, and the Rolling Stones also created strong feelings of delight. His appreciation of the arts widened.

In 1995 Zabavskiy joined Young & Rubicam, a major global advertising agency as Art Director. He travelled the world with the company and learned about emerging computer technologies. He met and was influenced by American artists and photographers, Peter Beard and Robert Whitman. Zabavskiy and began thinking about moving to America. In 2001 it was his girlfriend Olga who landed a job with a software company in Herndon VA. They got married in 2003 and he quit his job in Moscow and moved to the USA. He applied for a green card in 2004 and got it later with the category “Alien with Extraordinary skills.” Today he is an American citizen and Graphic Design Director at the National Building Museum.