"Ikanycha": Mariupol Easter Egg
The cultural and exhibition project "Ikanycha: Mariupol Pysanka" was the result of joint work of state institutions, artists, scientists, cultural figures and public organizations, who united for the revival of what was lost. The central element of the exhibition was the recreated collection of unique "Ikanycha" pysankas, which were destroyed together with the Mariupol Museum fund in 2022. Honored Master of Folk Art of Ukraine, member of the National Union of Masters of Folk Art of Ukraine, Zoya Stashuk, worked on its restoration for a month and a half.
The exhibition was the first physical exposition dedicated to the cultural heritage of Mariupol after the destruction of the Mariupol Museum of Local Lore as a result of Russian aggression. The presentation took place on April 24, 2025 in the space of the National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum" in Kyiv. Later, the recreated collection of unique pysankas of the Nadazovsky Greeks "Ikanycha" was exhibited in Chernivtsi, Odessa, Cherkasy and continues to travel across Ukraine.
Over two months at the Ivan Honchar Museum in Kyiv, the exhibition was visited by over 1,200 people. In Chernivtsi, Odessa, and Cherkasy, there were hundreds of interested visitors and grateful reviews. Each of the exhibition guests left not just with impressions, but with something deeper – a warm memory, an echo of family history, a rediscovered connection with their roots. Because each recreated pysanka "Ikanycha" is more than art. It is a sense of identity, a part of the cultural and historical heritage of Mariupol and the Donetsk region. It is a memory that does not disappear.
This project is of strategic importance in the context of the fight against Russian propaganda, which in the temporarily occupied territories is trying to rewrite history and erase the identity of local communities. The exhibition in Kyiv and other cities is proof that the true history and culture of Mariupol live on, even despite attempts to destroy them.
Organizers of the exhibition: Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, Mariupol City Council, Donetsk Regional State Administration, Mariupol Museum of Local Lore, National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum", Development Center "Democracy through Culture", Donetsk Regional Educational and Methodological Center of Culture, National Union of Masters of Folk Art of Ukraine, "City of Mary" team.
