National Center of Folk Culture “The Ivan Gonchar Museum is a specialized research cultural and educational institution located on the territory of Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra. The center conducts ethnological research, field expeditions, organizes scientific conferences and cultural and artistic events, in particular the Aurelie festival, and establishes contacts with folk artists, other bearers of traditional culture and its researchers. The museum provides coverage of Ukrainian traditional culture, taking into account its integrity and identity, the revival of national consciousness, the preservation and development of the best traditions of Ukrainian folk art and the perpetuation of the memory of Ivan Makarovich Gonchar.
The Ivan Gonchar Museum was founded in 1993 on the basis of the private collection of Gonchar, an artist, sculptor and public figure. He began collecting his collection in the late 1950s. From his travels around Ukraine, the artist brought objects of folk art made at different times, reflecting the diversity of cultural traditions of the country. Over several decades of painstaking collecting work, Gonchar has assembled a unique collection. At a time when state museums celebrated the cultural achievements of the Soviet period, Ivan Gonchar did not focus on the ideological nuances of creativity. He was interested in his collection reflecting the traditions of Ukrainian folk art. As a result, this public museum gained popularity not only in Ukraine, but also abroad, and also became one of the centers of the “sixties” movement in Kyiv.
The collection of the Potter’s Museum includes about 16,000 ethnographic and artistic items, including 2,700 textile samples (towels, shirts, outerwear, carpets, embroidery samples), 700 ceramic items (pottery, children’s toys, tiles), a collection of Easter eggs, wooden carvings products, metal and glass products, a collection of folk musical instruments (kobzas, banduras, cymbals, pipes, hurdy-gurdy, harp, goat, trembita, pipe and others). Notable in the museum’s collection is a collection of Ukrainian folk paintings, in particular, the famous “Mamayev Cossacks,” as well as folk icons (500 units). Professional painting is presented in separate canvases. Also in the center is Gonchar’s personal library, numbering 2,750 books and photographs taken by Ivan Makarovich.
Where is the national center of folk culture “Ivan Gonchar Museum”?
Lavrskaya street, 29
(044) 280-52-10, 288-92-68
Tue-Sun: 10:00 – 17:30, Mon: closed