Especially for May 16, the Embroidery Day, the ETNODIM team decided to talk with the person through whom we celebrate this holiday. In an interview with Lesya Voronyuk, we learned about the interesting moments of the founding of the Embroidery Day.
1. Brief biography. Where and when you were born, where you studied and for whom. (And we want to trace the connection from when did you get such an idea).
I was born in Chernivtsi. The idea of the holiday arose when I was still a student of the Chernivtsi National University named after Yury Fedkovich. I studied at the faculty of history, political science and international relations. "Once, during a break between couples, I saw my friend Igor Zhitaryuk, who wore embroidery on a weekday. I did this sometimes. I offered to choose some day and put on embroidered shirts together. We also invited our friends. In the first year of the action, we were only A few dozens.""
2. How did you manage to make this holiday all-ukrainian? What exactly gave the greatest impetus to the scale?
First, the holiday was picked up by students in different cities. We found like-minded students from the student council, through personal contacts. Also cultural figures and journalists joined the action, and later ukrainians of completely different professions and preferences. "The student has been and remains the driving force of the holiday. And this is natural. After all, these are young people — the energy of change and growth is behind them.""
3. Why the third Thursday of May?
Because the idea came on a usual day. We did not specifically choose a specific date for the holiday, so that over the years it would not fall on the weekend. It was important for us to convey that the embroidered shirt is an organic part of the life of each of us. It is also very beautiful to see people in embroidered clothes on a regular working Thursday in hundreds of thousands of schools, kindergartens, universities, government institutions, offices.
4. What is your attitude to modern embroidery and the vector of their movement? How many times a year do you wear embroidery?
Modern embroidery is a very broad concept. There are fantastic handmade shirts by modern masters, there are interesting solutions by modern Ukrainian designers who use ethno-motives, there is a broad market of medium and poor quality. In general, I believe that such a process is logical. Shirts cannot exist only in one of these dimensions for several reasons: first, people with a corresponding set of knowledge and experience understand refined and elegant things. Secondly, not everyone can afford embroidered handmade shirts or designer dresses.
5. How do you develop the holiday today?
Already 5 years after the birth of the holiday, I realized that it was to him that I want to devote my life. After all, the holiday evolved very quickly, every year there were new challenges and needs. And I really wanted to do more and more activities and projects that related to the preservation and promotion of Ukrainian cultural heritage.In 2015, our organizing committee established a public organization, which is called “World Embroidery Day”. We work all year round, implement dozens of events both in Ukraine and abroad, develop presentation concepts and action scenarios for Ukrainian diasporas and embassies. Also since 2016, the Miracle Documentary Film Studio has been operating at the NGO. Our film about embroidered shirts "Heritage of the Nation" was shown in 16 countries of the world, it is titled in 7 languages. Now there are 2 more documentaries in the work - “The Nightingale Sings” - about the myths about the Ukrainian language, and “Weaving Way” - about the Ukrainian weaving.
6. Does the status of the founder of a holiday in a career help?
How to say. Development holidays and is my job :)
7. How do you see this holiday in the future?
World Embroidery Day has already become a powerful platform for the presentation of Ukraine in the world. I would like us to be able to tell the Ukrainian history, as well as what is happening in Ukraine, even more powerfully through Ukrainian culture. After all, the anti-Ukrainian hybrid war has been launched all over the world. It is very important to confront her.
