Creativity exists in times of war. It is filled with new meanings, encourages rethinking of values, and develops culture. It helps to keep the balance, as Viktoriia Kulakova, director of the "It's Craft" Charitable Foundation, says. For her, communication with beauty—with what is born, created, and made, is not just a job. It is a way of life. And uniting like-minded people around her and supporting their creative growth is a personal mission. Filled with a desire to develop culture in Ukraine - a culture of thinking, a culture of behavior, knowledge of its history, myths and traditions - Victoria never stops looking for ways to creatively realize her dreams. Not just to come up with ideas, but to see them through to their materialization.
In 2023, the "It's Craft" foundation initiated a new program to support artists. Its goal is to tell about ancient cultures in the language of contemporary art. Viktoriia Kulakova, the ideological inspirer of the foundation and co-founder of the social enterprise 'It's Craft', talks about the uniqueness of the creative idea, the opportunities that await Ukrainian artisans, and the prospects for implementing the program.
About the past as a source of creative power
When we were under occupation, I wanted to highlight the history and legends of the Ukrainian south through fiction. To tell about Black Sea Scythia. Our real history, which is not far-fetched, not inspired by propaganda, without devaluation, so that we would never hear "What difference does it make, I don't care" and other things from people without values on the streets of Nova Kakhovka in our native village. To create books for children and for the future. This is how the idea to hold the "Kentavrida" literary contest came about. This is an annual grant competition for writers, including beginners, who want to create works of fiction for children and teenagers based on historical and mythological data about the territory and inhabitants of the Tauride region of Ukraine.
And when we moved to Uman and immersed ourselves in the history of the local communities, we discovered the topic of Trypillia. It turns out that this is the same ethnic heritage of Cherkasy, Vinnytsia, and Kirovohrad regions, and partly Kyiv region, as Scythia is in our Kherson region. Only the Scythians, Cimmerians, and Sarmatians were more nomadic tribes, while the Trypillians were a settled and peaceful people. In fact, civilization came from them.
The Trypillians were the first to engage in agriculture in Ukraine and the first to form their own culture in Europe. They built huge temples and were engaged in pottery. This is evidenced by a two-story temple with an area of 1200 square meters in Nebelivka and a 6-square-meter pottery kiln in Dobrovody. It is interesting that all their beliefs were based on the same forces that Ukrainians believe in now, if not all Ukrainians, then I do. These are the forces of nature-wind, rain, thunder, and especially the sun as a symbol of fertility. Trypillians also practiced matriarchy. Today, it is a global trend. Human civilization began its development with matriarchy. This is how it grows and takes root. This system, like a mother, is kind, non-belligerent, and committed to improvement. To ensure that peoples develop naturally, not in a conquering way... All this resonates with me. And I thought it would be good to creatively rethink not only Scythian culture, but also Trypillian culture. Thus, "Kentavrida" became the name of my next art project, which is no longer related to literature.
About the culture of the era - in one product
I did not launch "It's Craft" alone. The co-founder of the social enterprise is my colleague Pavlo Yarmii, head of the Regional Development Agency of the Tavrian Association of Territorial Communities, and at the beginning we were also assisted by Oleksii Chirkov. In fact, we develop business, human potential and tourism locally, help regions build a vision for their development and realize their resource potential. For us at RDA, it is important that people realize that they are Ukrainians, that they feel connected to Ukraine and its roots. And for this, we need some artifacts, some applied material things. We wanted to raise this cultural layer by modernizing it.
The idea came to fruition in 2023 as the Community of Creators, the idea of creating a collaboration of craftsmen who would produce goods at our request to modernize the images of Trypillia and Scythia in the beginning. They would not copy antiquities, but modernize them so that these things would become preachers of their era. In other words, we are talking about culture in our work. For example, the image of the Foremother, a sacred symbol of the Trypillians, can be embodied in a vase. Other sacred signs of that civilization can also be painted on dishes or embroidered on clothes. Creativity has no limits. It also allows both the buyer and the producer to talk not about the war, but to start talking about development and returning to their roots.
Actually, I've been thinking about the Community of Creators for a long time, even before the war. I wanted to form some kind of association where people could communicate with each other and create something together. It seemed to me that it was enough to unite like-minded people, and they would invent something. But it didn't happen that way. I had to come up with an idea myself, develop a concept, and explain everything to them. And only then did the collaboration begin.
About the symbolism of Ukrainian traditions
I started with the number of images. One collection includes 5-8 images and up to 20 products. Each set will include ceramics, jewelry and textiles - this is a feature of the idea.
We presented the Trypillia collection first, because it is more ancient. The second was Scythia, which appeared later. But there are many eras that art can tell us about. If you go back to the Cimmerians or to the times of Kyivan Rus, you can find interesting and inspiring things there, too. (The products are available on "It's Craft" website in the Community of Creators catalog - currently, ceramics, jewelry, and jewelry- https://itscraft.com.ua/spilnota-tvortsiv/)
Each collection is a reflection of a certain worldview, which is reflected in Ukrainian beliefs and traditions. (Viktoriia goes on to talk about the key images reproduced in the collections, ed.)
Trypillians were farmers. The snake, the ox, the woman-owl, the tree of life, the meander and Trypillian ornaments, as well as the building and the ear of grain had sacred significance for them. They also had impractical objects at first glance - binoculars, or binoculars or trinoculars. Water or grain was passed through them during sacred rites. Perhaps this symbolized the exchange of energy.
But the Scythians have a different culture. They were warriors and hunters. For them, the cult of strength was important - weapons, men had to carry akinakes as an honor. The Scythian tribes were cattle breeders, so in their culture and in the Scythia collection, you will find images of deer, goats, horses, and falcons. Mythical creatures were also considered sacred. This is the griffin, which has the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. It is also an ouroboros, or a snake that curled up in a ring and bit its tail. The Scythians also had Api, the goddess of earth and water, the ancestor of the Scythians. She was revered as the mother of all living things and a guardian. She was depicted on protective equipment. The mythical animals and the level of processing of the gold-embossed decor of Scythian outfits confirm the friendly relations of the Scythians with Greek craftsmen, whose epic is full of all kinds of miracles.
Articles have already been written about all these images.We post them on the foundation's website (read them in the Blog section- https://itscraft.com.ua/blog/). Each item is accompanied by postcards with links to articles about the symbols. Things should not just be beautiful; they should carry stories. Through them, we tell stories about Ukraine.
Read the rest of the article by following the link - https://itscraft.com.ua/prohrama-kentavrida-fondu-pt-2/
