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The University of Michigan Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia opened its exhibition “Threads of Tradition: The Art of Ukrainian Vyshyvanka,” Sept. 5. The exhibit features five different types of Ukrainian embroidery, or vyshyvanka, loaned from private collections and the Ukrainian American Archives and Museum in Hamtramck, a co-sponsor of the exhibit.
The exhibit displays vyshyvanka on a selection of traditional chemises, as well as decorative pillows, blouses, dresses and rushnyk, a towel usually reserved for ceremonial or decorative purposes. The exhibited textiles come from western, central and eastern Ukraine.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, WCEE director Geneviève Zubrzycki said the idea for the exhibition was inspired by Vyshyvanka Day, a global celebration of Ukrainian embroidered clothing that happens on the third Thursday of May.
“(WCEE) had hosted different exhibits, some photographic, and we also did ceramics by Ukrainian artists,” Zubrzycki said. “After Vyshyvanka Day and seeing Ukrainians from Ann Arbor meeting to celebrate the day, I thought this would be a great idea for the exhibition.”
Zubrzycki said the process of assembling the exhibit included working directly with the Ukrainian community in Ann Arbor, private collectors and the Ukrainian American Archives and Museum.
“They brought lots of artifacts, embroidered clothing, pillowcases, runners, photographs,” Zubrzycki said. “We mounted the exhibit with them, picking what we thought signified different regions, but also striking ones that capture your imagination. We also thought it was important to display a couple examples from members of the community, so the oldest vyshyvanka we have on loan is from a local Ukrainian woman who comes to our events and lent us her grandmother’s traditional costume.”
Katerina Sirinyok-Dolgaryova, Weiser Center Scholars at Risk Fellow and visiting associate professor, contributed some of her family’s vyshyvankas for the exhibit. In an interview with The Daily, she said the vyshyvanka is very meaningful to her as a Ukrainian.
“I see myself as part of a big nation and if I wear it, that means I’m keeping my identity,” Sirinyok-Dolgaryova said. “I am showing people who I am. It’s like to be proud, to celebrate who you are.”
Zubrzycki also said she hopes that the exhibit serves as a reminder of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022.
“We want to continue to remind students and the local community that Americans should continue to pay attention to a conflict that’s very impactful for those involved and also for the world,” Zubrzycki said. “We want to do this by showcasing some elements of Ukrainian culture in a way that reminds people why we support communities that are far from our own. It’s also about dignity, and showcasing why it is important for Ukraine to remain a sovereign state.”
In an interview with The Daily, Rackham student Arthur Mengozzi, graduate student instructor of Slavic Languages and Literatures, said he believes the exhibit is important for Ukrainian representation. He is currently teaching Ukrainian to undergraduate students and said he plans to bring them to the exhibit soon.
“It’s very important to stress the aspect that this is really an assertion of Ukrainian identity,” Mengozzi said. “With the horrible war that’s happening, I think it’s very important to find moments and examples of Ukrainian culture or life just in the everyday. I think that this exhibit certainly is a testament to the fact that Ukrainian culture, life and language is real, it exists.”
Daily Staff Reporters Sachi Gosal and Violet Boyd can be reached at sgosal@umich.edu and viboyd@umich.edu.
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