"SPRING CHORDS" Festival-Contest

Spring Chords Festival & Contest

NEW DATE: May 20, 2015 at 4:00 pm
Ivano Frankivsk, vul Depovs'ka, 97 
20.05.15 о 16,00год.,м.Івано-Франківськ,вул.Деповська,97

While in Ukraine in August 2014,  Maria Chulak, the chair of 'Rossa Karpat' (Cathpathian Mist), a community organization promoting folk art and craft in Prykarpattya invited me to help to promote this festival so there could be an international presence.

I agreed and here are all the details and application form in English and in Ukrainian. 

Maria Chulak, founder of "Роса Карпат" (Carpathian Mist),
and organizer of the the "Spring Chords", III Prykarpattian Festival-Contest

Next spring there will be a III Prykarpattian Festival-Contest of Designer Outfits with Folk Motifs --"SPRING CHORDS" in Ivano Frankivsk, Ukraine. You can see and read about the first and second festivals on the internet. I'm showing a few photos from the previous shows.

Dress sewn from a fabric with woven motifs.  II Spring Chords

Participation is FREE, however, the shipment of submission garments or travel are at your OWN expense. The application deadline is March 20, 2015.

The Third "SPRING CHORDS" (Весняні Акорди) Gala is scheduled for May 22, 2015. In the framework of the festival -contest there will be master classes, press-conferences about the festival results, formal finale, awards ceremony and a  gala concert.

This is a wonderful opportunity to participate in a festival designed to promote contemporary clothing inspired by traditional folk art motifs. While it's nice that that the producers are gearing this towards students and young professionals in Ukraine, I personally do not see what age has to do with it. It's the love of the folk arts, design and imagination that should be celebrated here.

The idea is to create contemporary fashion with motifs taken from folks arts and embroider, weave or embellish with beadwork (embroidery or beadwoven 'gerdan' accessory).

Outfits modelled at II Spring Chords Festival

There are many parcel and courier services to Ukraine. Shipping time needs to be built in so the submissions arrive in Ivano Frankivsk by May 10, 2015. No entries will be accepted without prior application.

A fashion show and gala will be held May 22nd at Hotel Nadia. There is a contest component to this with judging in four categories: One Garment; Costume; Collection; Accessories.

Collection presented at II Spring Chords Festival

I would like to see many entries from USA and Canada participating in the next Festival-Contest.

This is a very doable project! All it takes is to file an application by Mar 20th; send your outfit(s) to Maria Chulak by May 10th for fitting a model and prep for the show; plan a trip to Ukraine with a stop in Ivano Frankivsk for the Gala SPRING CHORDS Festival-Contest on May 22, 2015.

The personal trip would be an awesome for the Festival and your soul. Need any more excuses?

The benefits are numerous. If you participate, you become an "international" designer, creator and supporter of contemporary folk arts in Ukraine. If you have something suitable, I believe you can send a few outfits (don't forget the application form) to Ivano Frankivsk. There have been many great contemporary embroidery events recently in USA, i.e. at the Ukrainian National Museum. We have been doing this for a long time in North America.

'Sorochka' chemise at I Spring Chords Festival

Final walk of outfits and costumes at the II Spring Chords

HISTORY
The competition originated with the goal of developing and simultaneously supporting young talent, creativity and growth professional level of a fashion designer.  The festival enables an interregional exchange of artistic values, preserving of traditions and acquaints youth with Ukrainian folk culture. This form of artistic competition strengthens the love of folk arts and creativity, preserves spirituality, ethnic independence, and is a renewal of moral values.

The main goal of the festival-contest is to give students and young professionals opportunities to express their fantasy, demonstrate expertise and visualize garment styles based on folk traditions. “Spring Chords” helps applicants make the first steps in a professional career, enables the development of a nationally-focussed creative individual. 

Participation in the competition gives youth a chance to demonstrate their artistic potential to professional designers and is a natural starting point for further cooperation with well know fashion designers.

SPRING CHORDS Festival creates the conditions for creative collaboration between collectives and master craftsmen – representatives of the traditional national culture; enables the rebirth of national holiday rituals and customs, propagation of better spiritual  values of the Ukrainian people,  love of the native land; helps connect youth to Ukrainian folk art; encourages the preservation and support of the historic-cultural and natural riches of the Carpathian land. 

Participation in the  “Spring Chords” Festival-Contest is free.

Participant’s work and information about them will be included in the Festival catalog.

The creative work of the designers will be evaluated by a competent jury:  designer, art scholars, craftspeople, artists, expert-analysts.

    Categories:

One garment;

Costume;

Collection;

Accessories.

Entries should be created on the basis of folk traditions and be adorned  by  embroidery, weaving, bead embellishment.

Entries should demonstrate the designer is aware of the current fashion trends and direction.

Entries should be created using quality materials, in keeping with the technological requirements.

Entries should be oriented for the consumer.

EACH PARTICIPANT COVERS THEIR OWN SHIPPING and TRAVEL EXPENSES

All participants will receive certificates from the festival-contest “Spring Chords”; 

Contest winners (in each category) will be awarded with memorable souvenirs.

Information about “Spring Accords’ will be available through the internet; in the press, media, information services, other mass media with rights to feature the event. 

Here are all the details and application form in English and in Ukrainian. 

In the framework of the festival -contest there will be master classes, press-conferences about the festival results, formal finale, awards ceremony and a  gala concert.