Flat Head Screws

If you are ever in New York City, as I was recently, you undoubtedly paid a visit to the amazing Metropolitan Museum of Art embraced by the beauty of Central Park. However, you may not have known to pop into another treasure find just kitty corner away. 

The Ukrainian Institute of America is housed in a turn of the last century mansion across the street from Central Park.  Thanks to a Ukrainian industrialist, inventor and philanthropist, this beautiful mansion with its prestigious address and unique architectural style has become a hub for seminars, symposia and conferences about news, political events and policy in Ukrainian organizations both here in the diaspora and in Ukraine. 

An anecdote retold by a friend enticed me to enter this fabulous building - this impressive Institute was made possible through the generosity of a person whose claim to fame involved the invention of a very needed flat head screw, designed especially for airplane construction.  It says something special about the Ukrainian dream in the diaspora that such an institution should be doing its work, quietly and effectively, nestled as it is in the most wonderful location on museum trail in New York City.  http://www.ukrainianinstitute.org/about.php# 

The grandeur of its architectural style is in stark contrast to the amazing modern art treasure we found inside on its gallery walls.  Twenty eight three-dimensional geometrically shaped, constructed relief sculptures were in the exhibition that welcomed us. And when we looked closer, it was the very interesting, contemporary art-works of professor of Fine Art at the University of Calgary, Ron Kostyniuk.

Ron Kostyniuk is a Canadian artist of Ukrainian descent whose work has been widely exhibited. His sculptures are included in many private and museum collections in Canada. We were glad to have the opportunity to view his exhibition, Art as Nature Analogue, and have another special place to visit the next time in New York - the Ukrainian Institute of America.  

 

 

National Internment Art Mural Project

food-alovestory.com

The Sunflower is widely accepted as the flower of Ukraine. It's head smilingly follows the sun through the day's journey across the sky. Fields of Sunflowers grow on Ukraine's Farmlands, for its rich oil - Beauty, Food, and Balm.

The scattered seeds of the Sunflower, those thousands of men, women and children of Ukraine and Eastern Europe who were affected by the internment operations in Canada during World War 1 will be honored with a special project being launched February 20, 2013.   Vernon, British Columbia Artist Michelle Lougherty is announcing the official launch of this National Internment Art Mural Project. Specially created murals, designed to capture the imagination of viewers with the purpose of edifying the memory of those persons and their families will be appearing in communities across Canada over the next few years.

The artist, Michelle Lougherty is exploring her personal family's experience through this project. Her direct connections with the people, their lives, the hardship, the trauma, fear and shame - and the unusual manner in which this ancestral experience has shaped her life will come to life on the murals. Ultimately, she and her team will be mounting murals across Canada, in the 24 locations associated with the Internment experience.

At a loss for words, I struggle with this period myself - knowing that my family also lost contact with persons known to them through this experience. Where they went, what was their fate, what experiences they weathered - the stories are yet untold. For it is these stories that continue to resonate just under the surface of the bubbling Ukrainian community in Calgary I believe. Proud to be Ukrainian? Perhaps some families had it drummed out of them, and they have assimilated as quickly as was possible - severing ties with family and ancestral memory.

If you are in any way moved by this experience, I sincerely hope you will open the conversation with individuals in our midst whose lives were touched by Canada's National Internment Operation of the World War 1 period. Our Canadian history, ancestral culture, and social fabric of the community could all benefit from this opportunity of healing.

As the artist says "it is only in learning from the past, ...we become the wings of a better future".

St. Mary's Ukrainian Orthodox Church, in Vernon, British Columbia - on February 20, 2013 - at 2 PM will be the launch of this project, an opportunity for project coordinators and those moved by the Internment experience to collaborate. Those who have historical artifacts of the period, or photos, or recollections, may be able to contribute to the shaping of these murals - please consider this as a gift of your time, for Canada's future.

For more information go to www.internmentcanada.ca.

And for more about the Sunflower Project go to www.michelleloughery.org.

A Little Illumination - Art Exhibit

Larisa Sembaliuk Cheladyn is hosting another lovely show of her latest watercolour paintings and studies on Sunday, December 9th, 2012 at the Ukrainian Book Store in Edmonton.  The Opening Reception will be held on the evening of Saturday, December 8th complete with an opening program and refreshments.  Larisa's artworks may be purchased at this event - so make sure to book the event early and arrive early!

Larisa Sembaliuk Cheladyn is an accomplished Canadian artist of Ukrainian background.  Her works are in private and corporate collections throughout North and South America, Australia and Europe.  Her patrons and fans span the continents.

Larisa has much more to recommend her too! She is a mother, wife, daughter, granddaughter, auntie, cousin, and friend with a big heart.  She cares immensely for community and family.  This event is actually a fundraiser for the Ukrainian Canadian Archives and Museum of Alberta UCAMA - which is on its journey to completion on Jasper Avenue in Edmonton.  UCAMA's mission to preserve the archival documents which attest to the historical journey of Ukrainians in Alberta and Canada, is a worthy cause.  Something to support, and contribute to, for the future's sake!

It is perfect that Larisa is lending a hand - I certainly hope you will too.  Come, purchase some fabulous art works for your home and family,  and support the future driven UCAMA project in Edmonton.  

The Nativity Through William Kurelek's Art

Stupid as a calf staring at a new gate - a Ukrainian saying.  I start laughing!  What a typically Ukrainian farm saying! This is the title of one of the paintings I found in a book called Fields - Paintings by William Kurelek.  With soft snowflakes covering the trees, I actually took a moment to look at the books that don't seem to sit correctly in the bookcase.  Now, however I gotta chase this Kurelek idea. Somehow I don't think the English critics quite catch the subtlety of his humor.

William Kurelek was a sensitive soul, his short lifetime was prolific with brilliant artistry.  A Ukrainian speaking son of the Ukrainian Canadian family farm, his artistic genius was at odds with his family's struggle for sustenance and success in farming.  He was contemplative and hypersensitive, and nurturing his talent was inconceivably frivolous for the social circumstances of his community and family. Inherently a good person, he had a sharp self-awareness, and was traumatized at the distance between his dreams and his father's dreams for him.  This sense of aloneness, and homage, is palpable in his paintings.  He passionately loved the land, his family, and the unique cultural, religious, and historical circumstances of his heritage.  His artistry is deeply personal and subtle.  His themes are invariably uncomfortable for their simple truthfulness.  Images of prairies, farms and social events contain subtle humor, soft humanity, and a gentle, naive spiritual imagery.

I find another painting called Old Age is Not Joy - and I laugh again. Certainly something is lost in translation - but if you can, translate this phrase in your head - and laugh!  I adore this part of Kurelek's work!

It makes me think of all the baba's and dido's on the prairies whose simple faith, plain language, naive spiritual purity and unsophisticated social life built our Ukrainian Canadian community.  And I realize that Kurelek was ahead of his time, an artist enamoured of the land, his heritage and family -  good man.

Nativity images by William Kurelek - Canadian settings - accompanied by Chris De Burgh's composition "When Winter Comes"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKK_uvnph08&feature=share

For more information - http://www.catholicanada.com/2012/06/the-resurrection-of-william-kurelek/

Canadian Feature Film - "Enemy Aliens" -

Finally, there is a film planned to portray the historical events from the Enemy Aliens episode of Ukrainian Canadian history!  In mid October the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation granted support to Actor/ Film Maker Ryan Boyko in his mission to produce a new Feature Film about Canada's First National Internment Operations of 1914-1921.  "Enemy Aliens" will tell the story of brothers who leave Ukraine just before the declaration of war in central Europe in 1914.  Ambitious and aspiring to a better life in Canada, the boys arrive and have their hopeful dreams dashed.  Like the stories of many new immigrants of the time, the ramifications of their arrival in Canada at this strategic juncture in world history are daunting.  The movie is a fictional account, full of adventure, love, betrayal, hopes, and dreams.  One alarming event after another will forever change their lives - and the lives of many more who were engulfed in this sorry experience. 

The Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation has contributed a sum of 25 thousand towards this film.  If you should choose to support it too, you can donate directly to UCCLF ( Donations to "Enemy Aliens") , a not for profit organization that will issue tax receipts for donations.  The Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund has also supported this project - check it out at www.internmentcanada.ca.

For more information on the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation, please visit their website at www.ucclf.ca. For more information on this and other upcoming projects, please visit www.ryanboyko.com and www.armisticefilms.com. rmisticefilms.com.

More Ukrainian Summer Camps!

For an excellent experience with an excellent artist-educator, you just can't beat summer camp with Larisa!  She is a wonderful Canadian artist of Ukrainian ancestry whose career has blossomed - and I am not even exaggerating.  She loves flowers, and with her extensive knowledge of ancestral Ukrainian culture, folklore and folk remedies, she is able to convey multiple layers of meaning in her wonderful watercolor paintings.  Drama, subtle and sensitive images of moments in culture, moments in history, a social commentary that has brought her artistry acclaim and international recognition. Her beautiful art works hold a special place in private and corporate collections throughout North and South America, Australia, and Europe.

Exploring Ukrainian folklore through dance, drama, art and cooking, she has a unique message for all young people - don't you wish she would teach adults too? She is partnering with St. John's Institute in Edmonton to present summer day camps for children ages 6-12 this August.  Maybe it's time to visit family or friends in Edmonton for the week and register the kids for Art by Larisa's Ukrainian Summer Camp! 

UCPBA Calgary Outstanding Achievement Award 2012 - Peter Shostak

The Annual General Meeting of the Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Association of Calgary will be held on Thursday, June 21, 2012, again at the Danish Canadian Club, Valhalla Ballroom at 727 - 11th Avenue SW.
 
The Ukrainian Canadian Professional & Business Association of Calgary is delighted to announce that the recipient of its Outstanding Achievement Award for 2012 is renowned Ukrainian-Canadian artist Peter Shostak. This award is being presented to Mr. Shostak in recognition of his outstanding achievements and contributions over many decades, as one of Canada’s foremost artists, in commemorating, celebrating and honouring the heritage of Ukrainian pioneer settlement on the Prairies. The evening will also include an exhibit of Shostak works owned by UCPBA members and other Calgarians in attendance.

Pre-dinner entertainment will be by Absolutely Unplugged (Darren Moroz & Noella Ostash).

Mr. Shostak has kindly donated a limited edition serigraph, ‘The colours have not faded’, which will be raffled-off following Mr. Shostak’s speech.Tickets for the raffle are $10 each and may be purchased at the door. Two signed books by Mr. Shostak will also be offered as door prizes.
 

THE COLOURS HAVE NOT FADED
Serigraph Colours: sixteen
Image Size (inches): 16" X 25"
Edition Size: 90
Price: $400.00 CDN

Peter Shostak was born and raised on a farm in north-eastern Alberta. His early interest in art inspired him to major in art at the University of Alberta. In 1969, he obtained a graduate degree in Art Education and then took a teaching position at the University of Victoria. He remained there as Associate Professor of Art Education until 1979, when he decided to leave teaching and pursue a career as an artist, devoting all of his time to painting and silkscreen printing.

Much of Shostak's art reflects his memories of growing up on the prairies during the late forties and fifties. Two publications, When Nights Were Long and Saturday Came But Once A Week, reveal some of his personal history. In 1997, he collaborated with Vancouver writer, David Bouchard, on the book Prairie Born. His latest book Hockey…under winter skies was released in the fall of 2000.

Shostak's most ambitious project, to which he devoted five years of painting, was completed in 1991 with the unveiling of his series "For Our Children". These fifty large oil paintings, which portray early pioneer settlement in Western Canada (based on Ukrainian pioneer experiences), have been exhibited across Canada. All fifty paintings, along with background stories gleaned from Shostak's many years of research, are reproduced in the coffee table book For Our Children. In the introduction to this book, W.D. Valgardson states, "In his life and his art, Peter Shostak depicts what it means to be Canadian. He honours the memory of all our past lives."

In 2003, Peter Shostak received the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in recognition of his outstanding exemplary contribution to Canada.

Most major cities in Canada have repeatedly hosted exhibitions of his work over the past several years and he has completed many commissioned paintings and serigraphs for individuals, organizations and major corporations.

After living in Victoria for thirty-six years he recently moved north on Vancouver Island to Courtenay, BC. He frequently returns to his native Alberta to photograph and refresh his mental images of prairie life and landscape.

For more information, contact Peter Shostak

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Contact the UKRAINIAN CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL & BUSINESS ASSOCIATION OF CALGARY at 403-670-5477 or e-mail:  admin@ucpbacalgary.org     www.ucpbacalgary.ca