Over the Moon Art Gallery: Call for Artists

An Upcoming Exhibit Inspired by the Ancient Art of Pysanky

Story Preservation Initiative’s Over the Moon Student Pop-Up Art Gallery invites K-12 artists to participate in an exhibit inspired by the ancient art of Pysanky—the intricate, symbolic egg-decorating tradition of Ukraine.

For centuries, Pysanky eggs have been created as expressions of hope, renewal, and storytelling, using wax-resist techniques to form beautiful, layered designs filled with cultural meaning. In this exhibit, we invite students to explore color, pattern, and personal symbolism as they create their own unique egg-based artworks.

No experience with traditional Pysanky is required—students’ work can take any artistic form, from painted or drawn designs to mixed media, 3D eggs, and more.

Theme and Inspiration

Each egg tells a story. Whether you choose to reflect on nature, family, dreams, or cultural traditions, SPI encourages students to think about:

  • Patterns in nature such as rivers, stars, flowers, spirals

  • Personal symbols that represent your heritage, passions, or future aspirations

  • Color meanings—in traditional Pysanky, each hue carries significance!

Submission Guidelines

  • Artwork must be egg-themed, but it does not need to be a real egg!

  • All mediums welcome: paint, crayon, collage, sculpture, or traditional Pysanky techniques

Exhibit Details

  • Selected works will be featured in the Over the Moon Student Pop-Up Art Gallery, celebrating young artists and their creative interpretations of this time-honored tradition.

  • The deadline for submissions is midnight EDT on Friday, April 4, 2025

Former Secretary of State (2021-2025) Antony Blinken at the Symbol of Hope exhibit at the Ukrainian Institute, NY.

  • Educators and art teachers are welcome to make multiple submissions; however, only one submission per student is allowed. SPI will exhibit selected works with a maximum total number of 100 works exhibited over a six week period beginning in mid-April.

  • All submissions must include a two-line artist’s statement, the artist’s first name, grade, and medium. They must be a 2X3 ratio, horizontal in format, 2500px wide, and under 500kbs in a .jpg format.

  • Submissions should be sent via email to info@storypreservation.net with Over the Moon Pysanky in the subject header.

Symbol of Hope

SPI invites Pysanky artists with expertise in egg decorating to contribute their work to the Symbol of Hope exhibit at the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York. This powerful exhibition highlights the resilience and cultural heritage of Ukraine through the art of Pysanky. By submitting their work, students join a meaningful artistic tradition that symbolizes hope, unity, and perseverance. To learn more about the exhibit and how to participate, click here.


About Story Preservation

Our Mission: Story Preservation Initiative believes in the transformative power of story to connect people around our common humanity and create a better future.

Our Work: We are a leading producer and online distributor of original, content-rich audio-based narratives for K-12 students. SPI stories are the raw materials of history, roadmaps to scientific discovery, and windows to the minds of artists and skilled tradesmen and women.

What We Achieve: SPI brings listeners into personal contact with extraordinary people whose stories engage their hearts and minds, imparting content knowledge and fostering curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking as they open doors to possible career paths in professions associated with the arts, sciences, humanities, and skilled trades. We are fully open-source.

When educating the minds of our youth, we must not forget to educate their hearts.

Please consider making a tax-free donation to SPI. We are an open-source educational nonprofit dependent upon the generosity of contributors. Every bit helps us keep the stories and projects coming.

Visit us here www.storypreservation.org