Mamay. Prairie. Protection
art exhibition in the frameworks of the historical-cultural festival “Mamay-fest” under the aegis of National Union of Artists of Ukraine
1 June – 20 July 2019
Museum of history of Kamyanske
Kamyanske, Ukraine
Historical-cultural festival “Mamay-fest” is a large-scale museum event in the form of the scientific-art action, where the music combines with poetry, cinema – with theater, fine art – with folk arts and crafts. Museum artifacts have encoded in them the memory of the nation, harmonically combined with scientific researches, and they create the Ukrainian environment in its spiritual, aesthetical, and intellectual dimension. The traditional motif of the folk painting “Kozak Mamay”, the image of which lies in the basis of the project, uses the conceptual vision of the past and future of Ukraine to enter the open dialogue with modern artists and scientists.
Over the centuries Ukrainian lands were the territories, which due to the geographical and geopolitical conditions suffered from numerous waves of savage hordes: Huns and Avars, Mongols and Ottomans, Poles and Germans, and, eventually, Russia. The necessity to protect the native land, culture, language, religion, and identity led to the uprise of the folk regular armed forces – kozaks.
The dominant theme of the XII historical-cultural festival “Mamay-fest” is the appeal to the heroic history of kozaks, represented by the generalized archetype of the image the kozak Mamay, to the kozak’s traditions, which are kept alive no matter what and maintained nowadays. The art project “Mamay. Prairie. Protection” is a significant part of the festival.
The project represents the collective art exhibition, which calls for the reproduction of the tradition to protect Ukraine from enemies in various artistic forms: painting, graphics, sculpture, folk arts and crafts, installation. This tradition is alive today.
