Artists in a New Land

By Olena Wawryshyn

On June 10, an exhibition called Artists in a New Land, highlighting the work of nine artists who are all part of the fourth wave of immigration to Canada from Ukraine, opened at the KUMF Gallery in Toronto.

The exhibition showcases paintings, graphics and photography. Artists featured are Taras Boychuk, Ihor, Krut, Danylo Glyntchak, Aleksander Hutyrya, Olenka Negrych, Natalia Valenyuk, Oleh Valenyuk, Bohdan Vandiak and Volodymyr Svizhovych.

 At the evening marking the launch of the exhibition, Mr. Roman Wrzesnewskyj, President of the Board of Directors of the KUMF Gallery, greeted guests and said that “the exhibition demonstrates the Ukrainian community­–regardless of which wave–is of one thought in their shared desire to build our culture in Canada.”

Wrzesnewskyj introduced Peggy Nash, the Member of Parliament for the federal riding of Parkdale High-Park. She is a member of the Canada-Ukraine friendship committee, which is a group of Canadian parliamentarians who advocate on behalf of relations between Canada and Ukraine.  They meet regularly to discuss important bilateral issues in the spheres of trade, culture and immigration.

In addition, Nash was a Canadian election observer in Ukraine during the 2004 parliamentary elections.

At the exhibition opening, Nash said that “it’s wonderful to see some of the newer Ukrainian artists in Canada and some of the wonderful works that they are creating.” 

“I’m not of Ukrainian origin,” added Nash, “but I have some sense of the breadth of Ukrainian culture. I was very pleased to be present at the recent Kobzar literary awards and to hear the writers describe their works as Canadians, as Ukrainian Canadians.”  She pointed out that she also recently attended the concert in April at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall, which was held in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster.

“The Ukrainian community has brought to Canada a wonderful rich culture...In Canada today it has become a Canadian culture and that has made our country so much richer and so much more diverse because of the influence of artists who have come here from Ukraine,” she said.

Speaking about her work with the parliamentary friends of Ukraine committee, Nash said: “We intend to advocate on behalf of Ukrainian Canadians and on behalf of the relationship between Canada and Ukraine because I think we have a very special relationship. But, it’s a relationship that needs to be fostered, and I believe expanded, because it is a relationship that I think has a unique opportunity to develop and blossom.”

Following Nash’s remarks, art critic Halyna Kostiuk addressed the audience and provided a brief insight into the work of each of the artists featured in the exhibition.

Biographies and information about each of the artists are also found on KUMF gallery’s website at: www.kumfgallery.com.

Kostiuk noted that the artists featured in the exhibition are just some among the many artists of the fourth wave in Canada.

The Artists in a New Land exhibition runs until June 30.