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July 2009
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The Ukrainian Museum will be closed this Saturday, July 4, 2009,
in observance of Independence Day.
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In this issue
· Annual Meeting recap
· UM at Soyuzivka
· Now showing …
· Around the Museum: scholarly visitors, special events
Scroll down to see more …
Annual Meeting recap
The annual meeting of Museum members, on Saturday, June 13, was well attended, with some 75 members on hand to receive their copies of the 2008 Annual Report, hear a review of the Museum's activities and finances for the year, and cast their votes for new Trustees and Executive Board members.
Board president Professor Jaroslaw Leshko kicked off the meeting by paying tribute to the ten-year tenure of former Board president Olha Hnateyko, who had steered the institution through a decade of significant growth, culminating in its move to a large, newly built, state-of-the-art facility where it is able to mount several exhibitions simultaneously and to present a broad range of public and educational programs. He continued with a review of the Museum's activities in 2008, beginning with the negative effects of the economic crisis, which increased the Museum's focus on controlling costs and heightened its dependence on members and supporters. Professor Leshko stressed the need to expand fundraising and, when finances permit, to hire a public relations professional to enhance the Museum's image and presence in the American and international communities. He also pointed to the importance of public programs and e-news in attracting a wider audience for the Museum's ongoing work and exhibitions.
Museum director Maria Shust then described the exhibitions that took
place in 2008, many of them drawn from the Museum's collections, and
several from recent important additions to the collections. She also noted
the expanded activities and programs throughout the year, and concluded by
thanking the Museum's supporters, her small staff for their dedication and
hard work, and the institution's volunteers for their invaluable
contributions to its success.
Rounding out the Annual Meeting were reports by treasurer Roma Shuhan (who focused on the toll being taken by the economic crisis) and Audit Committee chairwoman Nadia Cwiach (who recommended that the Museum institute budgetary and financial planning and develop a broader range of fundraising sources). The reports were followed by a lively question-and-answer session.
The meeting concluded with the re-election of Professor Leshko as president of the Board and a vote for new Board members. Two new Trustees were elected: Lubomyr O. Zielyk as a member-at-large on the Executive Board and Olha Yarema Wynar as a member of the General Board. Zoriana Haftkowycz moved from the General Board to the Executive Board to take over as treasurer from Roma Shuhan, who chose to return to the General Board. The complete slate of Board members now stands as follows:
Executive Board
Professor Jaroslaw Leshko, President
Marianna Zajac, Vice-President
Maria Tomorug, Vice-President
Andrew Lencyk, Esq., Vice-President
Zoriana Haftkowycz, Treasurer
Orysia Dmytrenko, Secretary
Zirka Voronka, Secretary
Orest Glut, Member-at-Large
Mykola Haliv, Member-at-Large
Lubomyr O. Zielyk, Member-at-Large
Trustees
Nicolas Andreadis
Mark Bach
Adam Hapij
Sophia Hewryk
Lilya Kalat
Alla Kuchinsky
Motria Kuzycz, Esq.
Yaroslawa Luchechko
Chrystyna Melnyk
Rostislav Milanytch
Roma Shuhan
Natalia Sonevytsky
Olga Stawnychy
Oksana Trytjak
Olha Yarema-Wynar
The membership also voted to re-elect the members of the Audit Committee:
Audit Committee
Nadia Cwiach, Chair
Ihor Hayda
Roman Sorobay
Marianne Woloszyn
Lidia Zaininger
Following the meeting, members were treated to cake and coffee courtesy of the Board of Trustees' Special Events Committee, under the chairmanship of Yaroslawa Luchechko.
UM at Soyuzivka
Professor Jaroslaw Leshko, president of the Museum's Board of Trustees, was invited to be one of the guest speakers at this year's Ukrainian National Association Seniors Conference at Soyuzivka. The annual five-day event took place from June 15 to June 19 and attracted 106 participants from several states and Canada. It featured a number of presenters discussing subjects such as nutrition, exercise, health, financial planning, and legal matters, as well as a wide variety of social activities. Professor Leshko, who was accompanied by the Museum's director, Maria Shust, and its collections manager, Olya Olach, spoke on Thursday, June 18, about the Museum's mission and the importance of boosting membership, donations, and bequests. Brochures describing several of the Museum's exhibitions were also distributed.
Now showing …
more
Around the Museum
Scholarly visitors
The Museum regularly welcomes researchers seeking information on various aspects of Ukrainian culture. For example, Susan Williams and Jamy McMahan (l-r in photo at left), both natives of Tecumseh, Oklahoma, and both now at Western State College of Colorado, are in New York researching Eastern European immigrant communities. During their recent visit to the Museum, they asked a myriad of questions about the various waves of Ukrainian immigration to the U.S. and the Diaspora's preservation of Ukraine's cultural heritage, particularly its language and religion.
Another recent visitor was Heather Higgins (photo at right), a journalism student at Columbia University writing a paper on the Ukrainian Diaspora in New York City. She was especially interested in the various performing arts organizations that are part of the Ukrainian community.
Exhibition opening
The Museum's annual meeting on Saturday, June 13, was followed by the opening of Fine Art / Folk Art: A Dialogue, an exhibition that examines the profound influence of Ukrainian folk art on the fine art created by some of Ukraine's best known and highly regarded artists. The exhibition – the first to draw on the Museum's fine art and folk art collections simultaneously – includes 70 paintings, sculptures, watercolors, and woodcuts by such prominent artists as Alexander Archipenko, Jacques Hnizdovsky, Oleksa Hryshchenko (Alexis Gritchenko), Vasyl H. Krychevsky, and Oleksa Novakivsky, along with a selection of folk art items: embroidered shirts, plakhty (wraparound skirts), complete folk costumes, a traditional headdress, a kilim, and an assortment of ceramic and carved-wood pieces and pysanky (Ukrainian Easter eggs).
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Group tours of Fine Art / Folk Art: A Dialogue are now being scheduled, as are educational workshops for students and children. To arrange for a group tour or a workshop, please contact the Museum at 212.228.0110 or info@ukrainianmuseum.org.
"June Wedding" concert of traditional Ukrainian wedding songs
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The evening of Saturday, June 13, brought beautiful music to the Museum as acclaimed Ukrainian-American singer Nadia Tarnawsky joined Ukrainian Women's Voices, a collective of New York-area Ukrainian and American women singers, to present "June Wedding," a program of Ukrainian wedding songs sung in traditional village singing style and Ukrainian folk polyphony (multi-part harmony). The concert – the third in the Ukrainian Women's Voices series – was co-hosted by singer/bandurist Julian Kytasty and included performances by members of the New York Bandura Ensemble and other special guests. Audience participation was encouraged, resulting in what one concert-goer called "one of the most unusual singalongs in Manhattan"! The hugely successful, sold-out event was variously described by those in attendance as "totally engrossing," "excellent," and "fantastic." Said one enthusiastic fan: "The music was first-rate, the subject matter was fascinating. … I learned a lot about Ukrainian wedding traditions and culture, and enjoyed it as well." At the conclusion of the concert, the performers received a rousing standing ovation.
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"June Wedding" was presented by Ukrainian Wave, a Community Cultural Initiative of the Center for Traditional Music and Dance (CTMD), and the New York Bandura Ensemble/Bandura Downtown in collaboration with the Museum. The Ukrainian Women's Voices vocal workshop and concert series were developed in 2007 with the assistance of Columbia Teachers College Music and Music Education and Virlana Tkacz/Yara Arts Group. The Museum is grateful to CTMD for their exceptional performances of traditional music.
Video clips of the entire performance may be seen on YouTube, courtesy of CTMD. Click the image below to access the playlist.
Header image: Vasyl H. Krychevsky, View of the River Pslo, Village of Shyshaky, Poltava Region, 1931, oil on board, 5 3/4 x 9 1/2 in. (14.5 x 24 cm). Detail. Gift of Vadym Pavlovsky
All photos © The Ukrainian Museum
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The Ukrainian Museum's film series and programs are funded in part by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
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The Ukrainian Museum programs are funded in part by the New York State Council on the Arts
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