About this Event
This listing is for Saturday June 25. Tickets for Sunday June 26 are available here.
Please join us for Sunflower on Fire – a guided exhibit tour, lecture, and hands-on workshops exploring the art, photography, music, literature, crafts, and culture of Ukraine. This immersive experience is available for two days only: June 25 and 26. Presented by TYPONEXUS, The afternoon starts at The Grocery Studios, continues at Fresh Mochi gallery across the street, closing in mingling and discussion with artists from the Ukrainian diaspora.
On the heels of renowned photojournalists risking their lives on the frontlines to document current events, we venture into the epicenter of what is now the largest war in Europe since WWII. Interspersed in juxtaposition are enchanting depictions of the prewar country. As the “Nuclear Recitals” soundscape reverberates in the background, visceral personal stories of immigrants and diaspora intersect with inspiring visual and literary works of displaced artists and intelligentsia. The “rEvolution, Ukraine” exhibit photos foreshadow the 2014 inception of Russia’s most recent invasion. We then traverse across centuries and millennia, immersing into vibrant ethnic traditions via educational, hands-on music and crafts master classes of bandura (68-string chordophone) and pysanky (Easter egg decoration). Public discussion concludes the excursion.
Note: the exhibition includes images and discussion of war and painful circumstances.
Ticket prices are tiered based on activities. Selected photographs and artwork will be available for purchase. All art proceeds will be donated to The Sunflower Project, a nonprofit providing humanitarian aid for Ukraine (gofundme). Admission and concession proceeds will help offset costs of the “Sunflower on Fire” project and support subsequent presentations.
Program overview
- Guided exhibit tour, lecture, discussion: photography, art, animation, video
- Indigenous music: live bandura, sopilka, classical guitar, ballads
- Voices, Faces of Ukraine: personal narratives
- Literary: prose, poetry
- Pysanky workshop
- Bandura workshop
- Continuous Piano ambient recording: Nuclear Recitals, Vol. I ft. Lubomyr Melnyk
- Connect with the crew, further ways to engage, Q&A
Attendee guidelines
- Advance RSVP and ticket required (no walk-ins)
- Entry requirements: mask, up-to-date proof of COVID-19 vaccination, ID, ticket
- Wear your mask at all times except while presenting or partaking of refreshments
- No food/drinks in hand during main exhibit presentations in respect for gravitas of topic
- Exercise mindfulness and regard for diversity of ideas and emotional expression
- Follow TYPONEXUS on Facebook and Instagram to learn more about our work
- Thank you for engaging!
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
Begin at 3001 21st Ave S, The Grocery Studios.
4p – Indigenous music: live bandura, sopilka, classical guitar, ballads
4:30p – Project intro
4:45p – Guided exhibit tour, lecture, discussion: photography, art, animation, video. The tour includes the exhibition at Fresh Mochi Art.
5:30p – Voices, Faces of Ukraine: personal narratives
5:50p – Literary: prose, poetry
6-8p – Pysanky workshop
6:30-7p – Bandura workshop*
7-8p – Nuclear Recitals, Vol. I ft. Lubomyr Melnyk: ambient soundscape
8-9p – Connect with TYPONEXUS crew, further ways to engage, Q&A
BANDURA WORKSHOP
Bandura as the Voice of Ukraine, and Other Explorations in Ukrainian Folk Musicology
Led by master banduryst, multi-instrumentalist: Jan Petrychka
In this 30-minute workshop, we will learn about bandura – a unique Ukrainian music instrument in the chordophone class, containing up to 68 strings. We'll retrace its evolution from kobza; examine its significance in the self-governing cossack state and kobzar (bard, minstrel) movement; acquaint with dumy (epic song repertoire) through translated lyrics; and survey the centuries-long history of suppression, persecution, and execution of this ethnic art form by Imperial Russia and Soviet regime.
The lecture will cover a variety of native instruments and their history; overview cardinal themes and patterns in indigenous Ukrainian music; and draw comparative parallels to western composition.
As we listen to live ballad recitals on bandura, sopilka and classical guitar, we'll contemplate the imperative role of Ukrainian folk music in the context of activism, education, ethnography, self-determination, and national identity.
Participants will receive an art print.
PYSANKY WORKSHOP
Led by master pysanky artist Mylinda Sneed
In this 2-hour workshop, learn the ancient art of pysanky (egg writing), Ukrainian style: wax-resist egg decoration, its history, folklore, and techniques. Take home your own pysanky artwork and a custom-made pysanky stand.
Supplies are provided. If inspired, bring your own kistka (wax pen) and/or special eggs. Note: eggs must be room temperature (3 days out of the fridge).
About the instructor: Artist Mylinda Sneed has been creating and proselytizing the art of writing pysanky for 25+ years.
Introductory course: no experience necessary. Best for 14+ y.o. (younger artists will need to bring an adult assistant).
Participating artists
Photography
- Maks Levin (posthumously)
- Dmytro Kozatskiy (POW)
- Mikhaylo Palinchak
- Oleksandr Ratushnyak
- Yan Dobronosov
- Maxim Dondyuk
- Ivan Stetsenko
- Igor Chekachkov
- Oleksandr Piliugin
- Ivan Bogdan
- Ingwar Dovgoteles
- Anastasia Vlasova
- Oleksandr Khomenko
- Serhiy Hudak
- Petro Chekal
- Valentyn Kuzan
- Vyacheslav Onyshchenko
- Oleksandr Goncharov
- Vasyl Salyga
Visual Art
- Nastya Gaidaenko
- Sofiya Belinska
- O
Animation
- Mykyta Lyskov, et al.
Video
- Oleksandr Brams & Anya Pavlushenko
Literary
- Maryna Ponomarenko
- Oleksiy Nuzhniy
Music
- Lubomyr Melnyk (pre-recorded)
- Jan Petrychka
Folk crafts
- Mylinda Sneed
Voices, Faces of UA
- Darya Husak
- Maksym Dedushko
- Sofiya Belinska
- O
Organizers and production crew
Event documentation: Bruce Tom, Lilith Laukner
Project founder, director, producer, curator, docent; TYPONEXUS founder, lead: O
TYPONEXUS: international, transdisciplinary, avant-garde collective. Eclectic, dynamic, participatory projects generated under the motto “Think Global, Act Local”
Event hosts
The Grocery Studios, 3001 21st Ave S, Seattle 98144
Fresh Mochi Art, 2900 21st Ave S, Seattle 98144
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The Grocery, 3001 21st Avenue South, Seattle, United States
USD 0.00 to USD 75.00