For Vyshyvanka Day, Darnytsia Adorned Its Office with a 25-Meter-Long Embroidery
For Vyshyvanka Day, Darnytsia Pharmaceutical Company transformed the facade of its Kyiv office into a traditional vyshyvanka. The building was decorated with a six-story–high, 25-meter canvas featuring an authentic ornament from Kyiv’s Left Bank region.
This is how the company congratulated Ukrainians on the holiday. The choice of ornament is symbolic: for more than 90 years, Darnytsia’s production has operated on the left bank of the capital. According to the company, this project is about more than festive decoration -it’s also about the presence of Ukrainian culture in the modern urban landscape.
“This is both a greeting for all of us on the holiday, and a sign of respect for Ukrainian traditions that continue to live on and unite people even in the most difficult times. For us, it’s important to support not only the development of modern pharmaceuticals, but also the cultural context in which society exists. It is precisely such symbols that form a sense of community, connection between generations, and inner strength,” says Yaroslava Poliakova, Darnytsia’s Reputation Management Director.
The initiative was carried out with the advisory support of the Ivan Honchar Museum -National Center of Folk Culture.
“When a business comes up with such an initiative, it’s important, because cultural heritage is a shared responsibility for a conscious society. Especially during wartime, culture becomes a force ensuring unity and resilience of the people. Vyshyvanka Day unites millions of Ukrainians across time and space, serving as a manifestation of our identity and centuries-old indomitability,” notes Myroslava Vertiuk, Deputy Director for Intangible Cultural Heritage at the Ivan Honchar Museum - National Center of Folk Culture.
The embroidery of Kyiv’s Left Bank is part of the larger ethnographic region of Central Dnipro Ukraine. It features geometric and plant-geometric motifs, while the combination of red and black colors became a distinctive characteristic of the region at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries.
“Every element of this ornament has its own semantics, because embroidery is a language through which our ancestors spoke about the most important things,” explains Oleksandra Storchai, researcher of traditional folk attire and Chief Curator of Collections at the Ivan Honchar Museum -National Center of Folk Culture.
The work on the idea and the implementation of the project took over a month. Installing the 25-meter structure took almost 20 hours, and a team of 60 people was involved in its creation and installation. The “vyshyvanka” on the facade of Darnytsia’s office can be seen in person until May 27, inclusive.
