Exhibition using traditional Ukrainian embroidery

“Embroidered with Pain,” a new exhibition using the language of traditional Ukrainian hand embroidery to encode stories of sexual violence survivors during the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, will open April 3 inside Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

The new exhibition will remain on display through August 3, 2025. The exhibition has been brought here in part by Cactus and Tryzub, a Ukrainian volunteer organization. Irene Amrine, Co-founder of Cactus and Tryzub, joined us to discuss.

Amrine explained by bringing the exhibition to the United States, it will amplify the voices of Ukrainians, women, men and children, who survived sexual violence during the occupation and bravely spoke out.

The exhibition will feature five stories about five fictional women survivors based on real events. These stories were transformed into symbolic ornaments and embroidered onto five traditional Ukrainian cloths, known as “rushnyks.”

A rushnyk holds deep cultural and spiritual significance, playing a role in key life events such as birth, wedding, death and healing.

Accompanied by an interactive website, visitors will be able to decipher these traditional Ukrainian ornaments to learn about the story encoded in each.