The Zablotska–Koval Fund
"As we grow older, we wonder what we will leave behind. While I had no specific goal when I bought my first rushnyks, I know today that they will be my legacy. If they survive the war, even if kept in cardboard boxes deep in a basement or in a museum's archives, I will have done my part."
Initially a Personal Initiative
Irena Koval, born Zablotska, grew up in Ukraine, in the Lviv region, where Ukrainian identity was passed down to her from childhood by her family. Through rushnyks and vyshyvankas, or the poetic works of Taras Shevchenko and Lesya Ukrainka. At a time when her culture was persecuted, knowing it became an act of resistance.
Yet, as a young adult, she was forced to move to France. Fascinated by its tapestries, marquetry, architecture, and the colossal efforts made to preserve them, she discovered a nation that deeply cherishes its heritage.
The turning point did not occur until thirty years later. Irena was struck by the beauty of rushnyks discovered by chance, yet whose motifs and style she did not recognize. They came from Ukrainian regions whose textile heritage she had never been taught. It was a revelation: if she herself was unaware of this diversity, it was because it had never been passed down or showcased.
Inspired by the French model of conservation, an ambition was born: to reveal these territories to Ukrainians themselves, so they could reclaim the immense wealth of an identity marginalized for too long.
Urgency in the Face of Methodical Erasure
The first acquisitions were discreet. Until then, rushnyks were simply left behind in old country houses, threatened by time but not by destruction. The war turned this desire for preservation into an urgent necessity.
To the human tragedy was added the deliberate annihilation of culture. From the very first days of the invasion, museums and churches were targeted. In the summer of 2026, printing houses were bombed, reducing millions of books to ashes, including all the school textbooks for the new academic year.
Powerless against the military course of the war, Irena chose cultural rescue. To the pieces she was already gathering were now added those purchased in territories directly struck by missiles.
Faced with a history that is once again being stifled and burned, every saved textile becomes an act of survival.
From an Intimate Collection to an Institutional and Family Project
While Irena's initiative saved these works, it was her son, Igor Koval, who gave the project a new dimension. A researcher and specialist in digital projects, he refused to let the collection remain in the shadows. He decided to digitize the fund and systematized the documentation of the pieces with Ukrainian researchers, ensuring the project's academic rigor. He created an online showcase, convinced that these textiles are an open window into the entirety of Ukrainian history.
From discussion to discussion, this digital museum naturally called for a physical embodiment: a touring exhibition capable of crossing borders.
This new ambition is championed by Oleg Koval, Irena's husband and president of the Representative Committee of the Ukrainian Community in France (CRCUF). Leveraging his diplomatic network, he mobilized the institutional and cultural support necessary to bring the collection into Western museums.
Today, the Zablotska-Koval Fund goes beyond a simple archive; it is a voice rising to carry the history of Ukraine to the world.