The first mentions of Tavrian painting appeared in the scholarly space at the beginning of the twenty-first century, after the publication of Yevhenia Bondarenko’s article “Steppe Treasures. Some Aspects of Folk Fine Art of Southern Ukraine” in the journal Narodne mystetstvo (Folk Art). This was the acquaintance of the scholarly and cultural communities with a remarkable painting.

Later the study, systematisation and design of a methodology for teaching the painting were taken up by Liubov Paraniuk, then a teacher at the Kutsurub Art School. She rethought the inheritance and gave it a contemporary voice.

In parallel with Liubov Paraniuk, untiring teachers began to study Tavrian painting and to bring it into the preschool education of Mykolaiv. The first acquaintance with “Tavryka” took place in 2004 during in-service training at the Mykolaiv Regional Institute of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education, under the lecturer D. Kryk. It was then, on the initiative of O. Borozdina, educator-methodologist of Preschool Education Institution No. 141, that a meeting took place with the artist and researcher of Tavrian painting Yevhenia Bondarenko. Her masterclass became the beginning of professional cooperation and of many years of creative search by practitioners of preschool education.

O. Borozdina’s idea of bringing Tavrian painting into work with little children was supported by A. Yakovleva, director of Preschool Education Institution No. 29. As a result of their close cooperation a thorough educational and methodological base was created for the purposeful introduction of Tavrian painting as a means of the artistic-aesthetic and patriotic upbringing of preschool children.

Later the study and sharing of the painting were taken up by staff of the Mykolaiv Regional Local History Museum, headed by S. Romanenko, head of the museum’s department of travelling and standing exhibitions, and by the Mykolaiv Regional Universal Scientific Library. With their support, exhibitions, meetings and masterclasses in the painting were held, and the work of Yevhenia Bondarenko was analysed.

For ten years — until the beginning of the full-scale war — the school research society “Doslidnyk” (“The Researcher”) functioned at Vasylivka Secondary School of I–III Degrees of Ochakiv City Council. It carried out search work on the Kinburn Spit and, together with student youth, took an active part in local-history conferences of many kinds.

From 2017 Tavrian painting, as an element of intangible cultural heritage (ICH), began to be developed by the Mykolaiv Regional Centre of Folk Art. Its research was conducted by Candidate of Historical Sciences H. Bozhkova, leading methodologist S. Baburina and Honoured Worker of Culture V. Kryvtsova. Through their efforts, in 2019 the painting was entered in the register of ICH objects of the Mykolaiv Region.

Teachers of the Mykolaiv Regional Institute of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education also joined the study of the painting: N. Stepaniuk and O. Volos. The materials they gathered made it possible to use the artistic and cultural heritage in the pedagogical process.

A true breakthrough in the study of “Tavryka” came with the beginning of the full-scale invasion: handbooks and methodological recommendations are issued actively, and there are attempts to integrate the painting into other kinds of decorative art. R. Sikalenko, programme manager of the Public Organisation “Adult Learning and Education Center ‘South’,” and her team initiated and compiled the evidential and artistic base for the inclusion of Tavrian painting as the tradition and practice of spatial and utilitarian decoration in the Mykolaiv Region in the National List of Elements of the ICH of Ukraine. Through that fruitful work the element received the protection number 116 n.k.s.

List of Sources

1. Bozhkova, A. “Tavrian Painting of the Mykolaiv Region.” Vechernii Nikolaev, no. 80, 2019, p. 5.
2. Bozhkova H. “Research and Popularisation of Intangible Cultural Heritage: the Experience of the Mykolaiv Region.” In Ethnic Culture in a Globalised World: materials of the 10th International Scholarly Conference (Odesa, 16–17 May 2019). Odesa: Department of Archaeology and Ethnology of Ukraine, Faculty of History and Philosophy, I. I. Mechnikov Odesa National University, 2019, pp. 22–25.
3. Bozhkova H. Yevhenia Bondarenko — Researcher of the Folk Culture of the Mykolaiv Region: booklet. Mykolaiv: MOIPPO, 2024. 6 pp.
4. Bozhkova H. Intangible Cultural Heritage: Preservation, Popularisation and the Raising of Its Role in Society (on the Example of the Mykolaiv Region). Mykolaiv: MOTsNT and KOR, 2019. 56 pp.
5. Bozhkova Hanna. In the World of Tavrian Painting: booklet. Mykolaiv: MOIPPO, 2024. 12 pp.
6. Bondarenko V.  Tavrian Painting: a Wonder of the Black Sea Coast: a model programme of club work in the artistic-aesthetic direction, designed for children of younger school age (4 years of study). Mykolaiv: Centre of Editorial and Publishing Activity of MOIPPO, 2024. 68 pp.
7. Bondarenko Ye. “Images of Tavria: Some Aspects of Folk Fine Art of Southern Ukraine.” Veresen, nos. 2/3, 2002, pp. 80–85.
8. Bondarenko Ye. Paths to the Lyman: novellas. Ed. Yu. Skyba. Mykolaiv: Ilion, 2007. 88 pp.
9. Bondarenko Ye. Paths to the Lyman: novellas. Ed. O. Topchii. Mykolaiv: VART, 2009. 94 pp.
10. Bondarenko Ye. “Steppe Treasures. Some Aspects of Folk Fine Art of Southern Ukraine.” Narodne mystetstvo, nos. 1–2, 2004, pp. 48–49.
11. Borozdina O., and A. Yakovleva. “Tavrian Painting: We Revive Traditions, We Foster Patriotism: from Experience of Work with Preschoolers.” Doshkilne vykhovannia, no. 7, 2024, pp. 30–35.
12. Zapisochnа L. “Paintings of Ukraine — Kinds of Traditional and Contemporary Decorative Painting. The Development of Tavrian (Black Sea) Painting: (on the Basis of the Work of the V.. Vereshchagin Mykolaiv Regional Art Museum).” In 12th Mykolaiv Regional Local History Conference “History. Ethnography. Culture. New Research”: conference materials. Mykolaiv, 2021, pp. 162–165.
13. Mazur-Stepaniuk N. Tavrian Painting. From a Drop to a Stormy Wave: album-handbook. Mykolaiv, 2024. 24 pp.
14. Paraniuk L., and H. Bozhkova. Tavrian Painting. A Unique Element of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Mykolaiv Region. Mykolaiv: MOTsNT and KOR, 2019. 43 pp.
15. ParaniukL., and R. Sikalenko. Tavrian Painting. Mykolaiv: RVK “Vash polihrafist,” 2021. 80 pp.
16. Paraniuk L., and R. Sikalenko. Tavrian Painting. 2nd ed., rev. and enl. Mykolaiv: Ilion, 2022. 92 pp.
17. Paraniuk L., and R. Sikalenko. Tavrian Painting. 3rd ed., rev. and enl. Mykolaiv: Ilion, 2025. 98 pp.
18. Romanenko S. “The Work of the Artist Yevhenia Bondarenko and the Popularisation of Folk Traditions of the Mykolaiv Region.” In 5th All-Ukrainian Scholarly and Practical Conference “The Ukrainian Studies Dimension in Contemporary Scholarship: the Humanitarian Aspect”: conference materials. Mykolaiv: MNAU, 2020, pp. 61–63.
19. Sikalenko R. Embroidery Based on Motifs of Tavrian Painting. Issue 3. The Mykolaiv Men’s Shirt. Mykolaiv, 2025. 48 pp.
20. Sikalenko R. Record Card of the Element of Intangible Cultural Heritage “The Tradition and Practice of Spatial and Utilitarian Decoration in the Mykolaiv Region: Tavrian Painting.” Mykolaiv, 2025. Archive of the Department of Travelling and Standing Exhibitions of the Mykolaiv Regional Local History Museum.
21. Sikalenko R., V. Kryvtsova, L. Paraniuk, and L. Saikovska. Embroidery Based on Motifs of Tavrian Painting. Issue 2. The Mykolaiv Rushnyk. Mykolaiv: Ilion, 2024. 44 pp.
22. Stepaniuk N. “Tavrian Patterns.” Mystetstvo i osvita, no. 1, 2020, pp. 40–45.
23. Stepaniuk N. “Tavrian Patterns.” Veresen, no. 1, 2021, pp. 141–154.
24. Stepaniuk N. “Ornamental Composition in Tavrian Painting.” Veresen, no. 4, 2022, pp. 168–181.
25. Stepaniuk N., L. Paraniuk, and V. Kryvtsova. Embroidery Based on Motifs of Tavrian Painting. Issue 1. The Mykolaiv Vyshyvanka. Mykolaiv: Ilion, 2024. 49 pp.
26. “Tavrian Painting — a Wonder of the Black Sea Coast.” Website of the Mykolaiv Regional Centre of Folk Art, 17 July 2019. https://ocnt.com.ua/tavrijskij-rozpis-divo-prichornomorya/
27. Demchenko S., compiler. The Ukrainian Lionet Does Not Fear the Cobra. Chernihiv, 2024. 96 pp. Pp. 46–55, 66–71.
28. Cherkesova I. “The Lighthouses of Yevhenia Bondarenko.” Osvitianska vitryna, 2004, pp. 123–130.
29. Tsymbalyk Darya. Ecocide in Ukraine. The Ecological Price of Russia’s War. London: John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 2025. 188 pp.