Contemporary Ukrainian Crafts. Lucia Bondar, Anastasiia Biletska, Mykhailo Bokotei, Halyna Istomina, Zinaida Kosytska, Tetyana Solovey, Olha Yamborko, Ulyana Khromyak

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Hardcover 
250 x 300 mm 
272 pages 
English-Ukrainian 
ISBN 978-617-95044-8-8 
Release year: 2024 

According to the oldest American dictionary, Merriam- Webster, “authentic” was the most popular word of 2023. The increased interest was triggered by stories and conversations about artificial intelligence, reflections on self-identity, and social media. This interest in the problem of identity in the modern world coincided with the growing need for Ukrainians to examine their own self-identity, a new wave of which appears every time during events that threaten the sovereignty of the state and the existence of the nation. 

The book Contemporary Ukrainian Crafts is absolutely outstanding. First of all, it is a story about unique and distinctive traditional crafts with millennia-old traditions; about talented Ukrainians, true enthusiasts who are now researching, studying, and interpreting these crafts to create new, modern meanings, thereby programming a contemporary Ukrainian code. 

At the same time, this publication is also a chronicle of our time, telling the stories of our compatriots’ lives – about the search for their purpose and favorite business, and how they find themselves in arts and craft, creating beauty with their own hands that brings joy to people. This shows the genetic diligence of Ukrainians, their tendency to create with their own hands, and the attraction to crafts passed down from generation to generation. The book contains eight chapters on such folk arts and crafts as ceramics, carpetmaking and tapestries, home textiles, vytynanka paper cutouts, wood carving, candlemaking, handmade furniture, and glassblowing; as well as a chapter on rethinking materials. This is the first issue of the series, which focuses on craft items for home; the next one will be dedicated to clothing and jewelry.

The publication was created with the support of KredoBank. According to Jerzy Jacek Szugajew, Chairman of the KredoBank’s Management Board, “One of the priority tasks of KredoBank in the conditions of a full-scale war is to be a support for Ukrainian business. And not only for big business, but also for entrepreneurs, artisans, and craftsmen in order to support and develop the Ukrainian economy and promote Ukrainian brands on a global scale. We admire people who work with great inner strength against all odds, inspire and create new opportunities for development, life, and work in the country when a full-scale war is ongoing, and we do our best to support them.”