Ukrainian Day on Parliament Hill event

Haven't heard about Petrykivka before? Check the video I crafted for you 💙 It will take less than 3 minutes to immerse in Ukrainian nature, art and traditions.

During the USSR's rule over Ukraine from 1922-1991, there was a shift in using and understanding this type of art. It is fascinating that the art did not lose its authenticity because there was an attempt to politicise Petrykivka.

Petrykivka artists had to create portraits of V. Lenin, Y. Gagarin and Soviet red army soldiers decorated with characteristic floral ornaments and depictions of everyday life. Even in such stressful situations Ukrainians were always passionate about the beauty of nature and artistic reflection.

Inspired by enthusiasm and hard work of Petrykivka artists, I was eager to promote Ukrainian heritage by creating an art exhibition.

To keep the Petrykivka recognisable, I had to define the visual characteristics of digital artworks.

Members of Parliament, interns, founders of CUPP, CUPP alumni, members of Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers, Ukrainian activists, members of the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada.

As a designer, I was responsible for the visual part of UDPH event: hall decoration and print materials. By the creation of digital artworks, I gave a fresh breath to the techniques of Petrykivka painting and ignited people to explore Ukrainian folk art. Moreover, I introduced Petrykivka to people who have never heard about this painting style.

CUPP interns received many positive feedbacks on the event from attendees. Andriy Shevchenko, a current Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada noted an impressive result of CUPP intern's work.

This is only the beginning of my journey to save Ukrainian heritage. I am going to do more Petrykivka projects.

Petrykivka is typically painted with the cat or squirrel fur brushes. With the arrival of modern technologies, it is possible to merely imitate the Petrykivka strokes using digital tools. Thus, this project can be considered as a creative response to the digitalisation of our world.

Previously, bright flowers of Petrykivka were created for real buildings and objects. Nowadays ornamental folk elements can evolve to be a part of an installation or a website.

In future, I plan to continue experiments with this digitalisation approach. I am eager to discover how an individual will feel while gaining art skill to draw such Petrykivka flowers. In reality, such activity requires patience and consistent practice. Though, a digital interactive installation may be a new way to engage with folk art techniques.

CUPP 2017 interns became more than colleagues for me. Our creative collaboration, friendship and high ambitions helped us to organise the event of an extremely high level. Warm thanks for the support and meaningful time together.