VIKNA

Vikno, a window in Ukrainian, in ethnic culture was perceived as a sacred divide between different worlds – the real and the ideal, the present and the future; as some kind of an “eye” to the outside world. The idea of ​​the “window” is a symbolic mediator between the present and the past – a glimpse into the space of traditional culture and folk art that nowadays undergo irreversible transformations. The exhibition will present 100 unique Ukrainian ethnic costumes from the leading museum collections dating back to late XIX – early XX century. The pivotal motive for the exposition are photographs of house windows from all over Ukraine gathered by the ethnographer, researcher, and artist Petro Honchar in his travels and expeditions. 

The project aims to demonstrate the highest examples of folk art, while actualizing the sources of modern identity. Indeed, there has been a significant revival of interest in the Ukrainian national culture and traditions against the backdrop of social transformations taking place in Ukraine recently. Ethnic symbols became a part of our daily life, a sign of solidarity, of belonging to a political nation formed on the principles of civil society.