On December 15, 2023, the Europa Nostra Heritage Hub in Krakow was a space for discussion on the contemporary dimension of traditional Ukrainian embroidery – vyshyvanka- its special symbolism during the ongoing war with Russia. Dr Lesia Voroniuk, who is creating a vyshyvanka museum in Ukraine, came especially for the meeting from Chernivtsi.
Dr Lesia Voroniuk, winner of the European Heritage Award | Europa Nostra Award in 2022 for World Vyshyvanka Day, despite the ongoing war, continues the plan started in 2019 to create a museum in Chernivtsi dedicated to traditional Ukrainian embroidery. The museum has already gathered an extensive collection of historical embroidered shirts and other clothing items, and documents the so-called military embroidery, appearing on khaki-coloured fabrics and introducing new patterns, such as tanks, drones or rockets. The museum, although not yet open to the public, also creates vyshyvankas for soldiers – in response to the reported demand, and saves embroidered clothings from the war ashes.
We invite you to watch and listen to the conversation with Dr Lesia Voroniuk, conducted by Dr Katarzyna Jagodzińska, Head of the Krakow Hub. The conversation smoothly turned into a panel discussion with the participation of Dr Ewa Klekot and Dr Monika Nęcka, who placed embroidery in a broader cultural and artistic context.
Currently an English-language audio feature about the contemporary meaning of vyshyvanka is being created. We will soon publish it on our Spotify channel. Please follow our Facebook.