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THE UKRAINIAN MUSEUM A CULTURAL EXPERIENCE MARTA BACZYNSKY A museum is a very important insitution. It is the depository of man’s very best creative efforts. It is the safehouse where these treasures may be stored, pre served, studied and protected for the edification and pleasure of this and the future generations. In a museum the senses come alive in appreciation of the ingenuity of man. They come alive in appreciation of his talents, skills and resourcefulness. Museums also educate, putting into proper pers pective the significance of these creative efforts as part of a greater picture — the cultural heritage of a given people. In this way museums foster respect between groups of people, and pride in ones own particular legacy. The Ukrainian Museum in New York City houses treasures of Ukrainian cultural heritage. During its 15 years of professional work the Museum has adhered to the purpose and goals set by its founder, the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America: to collect, pre serve and exhibit objects of artistic or historical merit relating to Ukrainian life and culture, to interpret these objects in terms of the Ukrainian experience and to pub lish the findings. Since 1976 the Museum has built an impressive col lection of Ukrainian folk art. It has the largest and the only fully documented folk collection outside the borders of Ukraine. There are textiles (embroidered and woven), ceramics, objects of woodwork and metalwork. These are representative of the traditional artistry which com prises the Ukrainian folk heritage. The Museum’s archival/photographic collection is a storehouse of information, documenting in print and photos 100 years of the Ukrainian immigration to the United States. Pamphlets, cultural programs, private correspondence, and other memorabilia trace the event ful lives of Ukrainian community activists, artists and writers in Ukraine before World War II, during the years of displacement, and continuing in their new homeland. This is a large (over 9,000 objects) remarkable, carefully catalogued, professionally preserved collection. There are many other objects of great interest in the archives, such as various Ukrainian stamps in the budding phila telic collection and coins in the numismatic collection. The fine arts. The collection boasts of the fine works of many Ukrainian artists, but is especially proud of the more than 300 paintings by Vasyl Krychevsky and its rare grouping of works by the naive artist Nikifor. There are various works of sculpture as well. The exhibitions at the Museum, with objects drawn from these collections or borrowed from private sour ces, have enjoyed great popularity among the viewers, many of whom are visitors to New York City and hail from various parts of the world. In order to share its work with distant Ukrainian American communities, the Museum implements a successful traveling exhibition program. The Museum’s catalogues are an important feature of its work. The publications which accompany most major exhibitions contain fully researched material, en- enhanced by photographs, maps and bibliography, de signed to provide in-depth analysis and information about the subject on display. These catalogues are sent to libraries and educational institutions in the United States, abroad, as well as to Ukraine. They are extremely well received in Ukraine where they are instrumental in helping the population rediscover its past. The Museum catalogue “Lost Architecture of Kiev” which accompan ied a photographic exhibition of the same name mounted in 1982, has been reprinted in its entirety in Ukraine last year. The Museum also conducts a popular educational program slated to preserve traditional Ukrainian folk crafts within the Ukrainian community and to teach them to non-Ukrainians. There are embroidery courses, pysanky decorating workshops, courses in the making of gerdany (traditional beaded necklaces), workshops in the baking of traditional breads (Christmas and Easter), and a workshop in how to make Ukrainian Christmas tree decorations. In addition, the educational programs include lectures delivered by visiting scholars, and other cultural events. For years, those who appreciate the importance of the work being done at the Museum vigorously sup ported the institution. In testimony are the Museum’s Endowment Funds which currently stand at $525,000. This is the Museum’s long term financial security base, the interest from which can be utilized for various pro jects and day-to-day operation of the institution. Also in testimony is the fact that during the Museum’s celebra tion of its 15th Anniversary in December, 1991 a mort gage burning ceremony was held. The Museum had ended its financial debt commitment to UNA concern ing a real estate propety and building purchased in 1985. Thanks to friends and benefactors the Museum had paid off a debt of $850,000 plus interest in six years. Among the many positive aspects of The Ukrainian Museum, its negative one is very prominent. It is the crucial, critical lack of space. The Museum is located on two top floors of a renovated brownstone building which was purchased by the UNWLA and the Ukrainian Con HALUE ЖИТТЯ”, КВІТЕНЬ, 1992 17
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