A collection of handmade Ukrainian dolls came down from display at the North Port library on Oct. 31, and they are not going home.
“They are not scheduled to go back to the artists,” said Bohdana Puzyk, a representative of Branch 56 of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America. “The artists have asked that they continue traveling to as many locations as possible.”
They have been exhibited in New York and Washington, and the league is helping arrange their stops in Florida. Next, the dolls are scheduled for the Jervey Library in Venice and then the main library in Sarasota.
The dolls, called motanky, were made by artisans from Bakhmut, the Ukrainian city that was the site of fierce fighting with Russian forces through 2023. Puzyk said they were “rescued” from the city and brought to the United States. A motanka is a rag doll made from leftover fabric and thread. Traditionally, no scissors or needles were used, and the doll was given no face.
“People believe that if you put a face on it, it’s a connecting spirit, and you don’t want the individual to lose their spirit,” Puzyk said.
The dolls were considered talismans and were given to people at weddings for fertility and prosperity.
“They created these motanky as a way of telling the story of who they were and what they were,” she said.
The workshop behind them, “Bakhmut Oberig,” was founded by Svitlana Kravchenko. She is a member of the National Union of Folk Art Masters of Ukraine and a co-founder of the “Bakhmut Ukrainian” public movement. She has organized exhibitions in cities across Ukraine.
North Port has five Ukrainian churches, multiple Ukrainian organizations and the Southwest Florida Ukrainian Festival is held each February on the lawn in front of Town Hall. For many in the area, the story hits close to home.
“All the Ukrainians who have immigrated to America post-World War II and post this war and this attack, all are here for the American dream,” Puzyk said. “And they are part of American life. So, as anyone else, we don’t want to let go of our uniqueness, but we’re here to be part of this community.”
Puzyk said the league is probably planning a workshop in Jan. where people can make their own motanky. For more information, visitors can visit their public Facebook group.
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