The Artistic Youths' Club was established formally as an organ of the Kyiv branch of the Komsomol in 1960, and held its first congress on 8 March 1960.
Director Les Tanyuk became the club's head, and several sections were organised, dedicated to art, film, music, theatre, and writing, each being active in pursuing their own artform.
Ivan Drach, also a writer and himself a member of the club, concurred with such a statement, saying, "It was such an interesting world, because something new, a new life, as it were, had opened up after that terrible, scary winter.
Tanyuk was removed as the club's head and replaced with Viktor Zvaretskyi [uk] in February, but the group continued to organise cultural events, including a lecture in memory of Vladimir Mayakovsky on 1 June 1963, an "Ivan Franko Evening" on 8 June, and an event in honour of Lesya Ukrainka on 31 July.
One of the largest among these was the Lviv-based Artistic Youths' Club, which was headed by Mykhailo Kosiv and was more radical, concerning itself with the reestablishment of an independent Ukrainian state.