On April 8th, 2013 in the National Reserve “St. Sophia of Kyiv” at the premises of the XVIII century monument of architecture “Zaborowsky’s Gate” was held the opening ceremony of the exhibition “Amber Mosaics in St. Sophia of Kyiv”. The exhibition was created in a framework of joint project of the National Reserve“St. Sophia of Kyiv” and the ICF “Ukrainian Family” with the support of the Association “Ukrainian Amber World”.

Represented mosaics are the first in the world created by the modern artists from Italy and Ukraine with Ukrainian amber in classical mosaic techniques based on Byzantinian mosaics and frescoes preserved in the St. Sophia Cathedral, the Golden Domed Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Cyril’s Church.

“Two Worlds blessed by God – World of  St. Sophia of Kyiv and World of Ukrainian “Sun Stone” – allowed us to reproduce millennial unique attractions. A kind of “Amber Road” in space and time: the synergy of Spirit, Love and Mastership of generations separated by a thousand of years “- says Halyna Symkha, the Chairman of the Board of ICF “Ukrainian family. “
“The combination of classical mosaic techniques with a warm amber glow is very organic and symbolizes Ukraine, as a country that appreciates the heritage of the past generations and cares about the future. That is how one of the first ideas of creating mosaics appeared – the image of the Virgin Oranta reproduced in Ukrainian amber “- says Lina Damiani, the author of mosaic panels.

The exhibition represents such artworks:
- “Amber Oranta” – the mosaic image of Oranta (XI century), reproduced in amber, the central figure of the main altar of the Cathedral of St. Sophia of Kyiv.
- “The Tree of Sofia” – mosaic panel, in which the symbols of frescoes and mosaics of St. Sophia Cathedral are combined in philosophical conception of the World’s “Tree of Life”.
- Author mosaic “Angel twists up the sky in roll” based on the XII century frescoes, located in the St. Cyril’s Church.

Also, in a framework of a joint project of the National Reserve “St. Sophia of Kyiv” and ICF “Ukrainian family” starts its work the culturally-educational project “School-studio of mosaic in St. Sophia of Kyiv”. The main aim of the project is to approximate the artistic heritage of previous generations to contemporaries.

“The idea of the “live” workshop on the territory of the museum is just perfect – says Professor Marco Santi, the president and art-director of the” Gruppo mosaicisti di Ravenna “- the visitors have the opportunity to see how mosaics are being created and the way they pass from the hands of the master to the thousands of people”. The school-studio will hold workshops on mosaics and lectures on the history of mosaic art from the professional mosaic artists of Ukraine and World for children and adults.