November 8, 2024
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Colorful history: Learn about the tradition of the Ukrainian Easter egg at the Museum of International Folk Art

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With its complex geometry and designs, Ukrainian Easter eggs originated in pagan times.

Artist and ethnographer Sofika Zielyk will discuss the colorful history and tradition of the Ukrainian Easter egg known as the pysanka from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20, at Santa Fe’s Museum of International Folk Art, 706 Camino Lejo on Museum Hill.

Pysanky are an ancient art, made in Ukraine and other Slavic countries for centuries. Though many people call them Easter eggs, pysanky were made long before Ukraine adopted Christianity. The oldest “real” pysanka was excavated in Lviv in 2013 and was found in a rainwater collection system and dates to the 15th or 16th century.

Over 2,000 years ago, people decorated eggs with the belief that doing so would bestow great powers into the egg. Eggs symbolized the release of the earth from the shackles of winter and the coming of spring with its promise of new hope, life, and prosperity.

Zielyk will detail the step-by-step process of creating a pysanka and delve into the myths, symbols and lore of its patterns and motifs. Showcasing a display of her handcrafted pysanky, the artist will call on her ongoing exhibit “The Pysanka: A Symbol of Hope,” featured at the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York. She will explore the pysanka’s evolution to its current place as a symbol of Ukrainian resistance.

Zielyk is the American-born daughter of Ukrainian refugees. She began making pysanky and ceramics when she was 6 years old. Since then, her work has been exhibited in major museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Arts and Design. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Zielyk engaged in cultural diplomacy, using her artistic talents and ethnographic expertise to support Ukraine.

This event is presented in conjunction with the “Amidst Cries from the Rubble: Art of Loss and Resilience from Ukraine” exhibition.

Source: Albuquerque Journal

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