In the village of Ivano-Frankove, Lviv region, work is underway to create a museum-workshop "Yavoriv Toy," UNN reports.
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The project was initiated by Ukrainian craftsmen Ostap Soika and Oksana Kohut. They have been working on reviving and preserving the tradition of Yavoriv toys for the past 15 years.
Not so long ago, the artists, with the support of the MHP-Hromada Charitable Foundation, created the album Yavoriv Toy as part of the Time to Act, Ukraine social initiative contest. The album features traditional toys from the artists' own collection and original works that demonstrate the achievements and current trends in the development of Yavoriv toys on an authentic basis.
The price of the album is 1500 UAH.
The proceeds from the sale of the albums will be used to create the Yavoriv Toy Museum and Workshop.
The renovation work has already begun. Therefore, it is extremely important for the artists to have the financial means to continue the repair work.
"Unique art, and we believe that the Yavoriv toy, which is included in the National List of Elements of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ukraine, is unique, must live and develop," the artists comment.
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The Yavoriv toy is a special product made of aspen wood with a history of over 400 years. It is included in the National List of Elements of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ukraine.
Scientists believe that the Yavoriv toy originated in the seventeenth century, when there was a separate center where whole families made them.
Toys were not painted before. Color began to appear only in the early twentieth century and did not have any sacred meaning. Artists used the most affordable colors that were extracted from natural components: grass, earth, flowers. Presumably, if there were more paints, there would be more colors as well.
There are about two dozen varieties of Yavoriv toys. The most famous ones are a bird flapping its wings, carts, furniture, horses, pawpaw, woodpecker, rattle, mallet, whistles, flutes, dancers, and taradaika.
MHP-Hromada is a Ukrainian charitable foundation that started its operations in 2015. Its main mission is the comprehensive development of communities.
The geography of the Foundation's activities includes 13 regions of Ukraine: more than 700 towns and villages. Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Foundation has been systematically supporting people in the war zone, Ukrainian defenders and rescuers, communities, hospitals and maternity homes, charitable institutions that care for orphans and the elderly, as well as people who have lost their homes and livelihoods due to the war.