She is a writer, movie scenarist and author of the books Freud Would Cry, Good News from the Aral Sea, How to Get Married as Many Times as You Want, and Don’t Tell Anyone among others. She is also a singer and frontwoman of Qarpa band. She worked as a TV presenter channels such as MTV Ukraine, ICTV, Novyi Kanal, etc. Irena is a columnist for Vanity Fair, Deutsche Welle, NV, Radio Svoboda, and Vogue Ukraine.
During her post-graduate years, she lived in Indonesia and travelled a lot in India and Nepal, that experience enters her novels Freud Would Cry and Pizza Himalaya.
Karpa worked as the First Secretary for Culture at the Embassy of Ukraine in France (2015-2019). She is a curator of literary and art projects – Author of My Story: Practical course for young writers, Therapeutic Writing in the Time of War and a curator of writing retreats. During the full-scale war, Karpa often appears in French media advocating for Ukraine. She is a member of the PEN Ukraine.