On 23 May, VATAHA celebrated Vyshyvanka Day in Rotterdam at Fenix. The sold-out event brought together participants for a day of celebrating Ukrainian heritage, contemporary craft, music, and creativity.
The program opened with presentations on vyshyvanka and traditional clothing from Ukraine and the Netherlands. Participants then explored a range of techniques in workshops: keychain embroidery, embroidery on small bags in the Bukovinian style, vybijka (a fabric-stamping technique known since Kyivan Rus), and darmovysy, the Hutsul tassels worn as protective talismans for centuries.
Throughout the day, visitors took part in Ukrainian artist Marfa Vasilieva’s ongoing project The Carpet of Sorrow and Love, weaving red and black strands into a collective tapestry of memory.
Guests watched the documentary film Vyshyvanka Day: The Path to Yourself, presented by Suspilne Chernivtsi, attended an interactive presentation on traditional Ukrainian dress, and visited several photo zones. Dutch artist Mieke Klaver, who helped start VATAHA’s first Vyshvanka Day celebrations in 2023, welcomed visitors to bring along their unfinished embroidery pieces and receive advice.
The celebration ended with a heartfelt performance by Ukrainian participatory band KOZA, and visitors received awards for the day’s outfit contest.
Just as with Kunstmuseum Den Haag, our latest partnership with the Fenix Museum – known as the only Dutch art museum focused specifically on migration – marks a significant step in deepening our engagement with prestigious cultural institutions throughout the Netherlands.
In consecutive previous years, VATAHA hosted Vyshyvanka Day at Design Museum Dedel, SKVR in Rotterdam, and Museum Beeld en Geluid in The Hague, as well as its own 12-week-long Vyshyvanka workshops throughout the Randstad.
We are grateful to everyone who joined us and helped make Vyshyvanka Day in Rotterdam a meaningful event!
–
The event was organized by VATAHA Foundation in partnership with Fenix. Supported by the Embassy of Ukraine in the Netherlands, and made possible by Elise Mathilde Fonds and the Ministry of Asylum and Migration.