“Born by the Carpathians”

This exhibit showed portraits of different epochs’ individuals who were born or lived and worked in the Carpathian region. The author of the concept is Andrii BUDNYK, head of the poster and graphic design section of the Kyiv branch of the National Union of Ukrainian Artists, a teacher at the Department of Graphic Design and Advertising of the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts.

“The exposition comprises 53 artworks created by students and teachers at the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, members of the poster and graphic design section of the National League of Ukrainian Artists, and some Ivano-Frankivsk artists. It is only a part of the Art Space location within the framework of the 1st and 2nd ‘Carpathian Space’ international festivals of Carpathian region’s countries,” Mr. Budnyk told The Day.

NATALIA AVRAMENKO’S POSTER “BOHDAN STUPKA”

“I will remind you that Bohdan Strutynskyi, chairman of the National Union of Ukraine’s Theatrical Figures, is the organizer of the forum and the exhibits. The first exhibit ‘Born by the Carpathians’ was held in 2016, and the second exposition has been prepared this year. As these art projects aroused a lot of interest in Ivano-Frankivsk, we decided to display some of the best posters also in Kyiv. Out of 124 works we selected 53 which portray such classics as writers Ivan Franko, Lesia Ukrainka, and Olha Kobylianska, metropolitans Petro Mohyla and Andrei Sheptytsky, singers Kvitka Cisyk and Sidi Tal, the legendary theater and cinema actor Bohdan Stupka, and other outstanding individuals whose life and destiny were linked with the Carpathian region.

ANDRII BUDNYK’S GRAPHIC WORK “PETRO MOHYLA”

You know, Ivano-Frankivsk residents would come up to us after the first exhibit and confess that it was a discovery for many of them that so many prominent people were born, raised, and worked in the Carpathian region – they did not even know it. We gave visitors a sheet of Whatman paper and a pencil and suggested that they draw up a list of the individuals whose portraits they would like to see at the next exhibit. Then students and teachers at the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts and Ivano-Frankivsk artists made their graphic portraits and posters. You know, while there were about 30 works at the first exhibit, more than a hundred are being shown now. Applying the interactive method, we attract a wide circle of people to artistic cooperation. Incidentally, cultural figures from various countries, including Romania, Moldova, Poland, and the Czech Republic, who took part in the springtime festival, said at a roundtable that it is possible to increase the number of artists, for the Carpathians pass across nine countries and it would be interesting to paint the portraits and posters of masters from various states, not only from Ukraine. So, we are planning to broaden the artistic and geographical map at the next forum and attract foreign art students and teachers to cooperation.”