Creative Fellowship-Supervised “Echoes of Our Ancestors” by Pobuzhsky Art Center Young Talents was Presented at Ukrainian Ministry of Culture
#HeritageMakers

“Echoes of Our Ancestors”, project created by young talents of Pobuzhsky Art Center for Children and Youth under Creative Fellowship supervision for the Young European #HeritageMakers competition has been presented at the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture in the beginning of May.

During the meeting organized by the Department of International Cooperation and Protocol, responsible for regional Young European Heritage Makers contest selection in Ukraine participants from Pobuzhsky had a chance to discuss their experiences and impressions with contestants from other regions of Ukraine who explored common topics.

While presenting “Echoes of Our Ancestors”, Viktoriya Havrylenko, the teaching artist explained that Pobuzhsky students have already researched the topic of traditional Ukrainian craftsmanship a few years ago when the Art Center took part in the “Museum of Happiness” project organized by the Creative Fellowship initiative. Back then together with Italian artist Petra Zublasing they explored regional traditions of embroidered shirts, rag dolls, folk costumes, and tales of Scythian settlements. For the Young European #HeritageMakers competition the talents decided to focus on bead weaving, which was the most representative of the regional folk craftsmanship.

“Embroidery is a symbol that preserves roots, identity, self-understanding. It is our history—mythology, religion, the ancient art of our ancestors, the soul of our people. Our genetic code is encrypted in embroidery” – explained their choice one of the contestants.

Participants agreed that the “Young European #HeritageMakers” project serves as a bridge linking various European cultures, illustrating the shared heritage that unites the continent, with traditional Ukrainian craftsmanship at the forefront of this cultural exchange.

Winners of the European-level age group 11-17 will be invited to visit Strasbourg in September 2024, where they will have the opportunity to interact with #HeritageMakers from across the Globe and share their experiences. Winners of the younger age group will be invited to online award ceremonies in May 2024.