The Songs of Our Ancestors

The Songs of Our Ancestors is a celebration of Ukrainian Canadian heritage in the Canadian prairies. It offers visitors a unique exploration of the material culture, aspirations, hardships, and accomplishments of early Ukrainian settlers in Western Canada.

The exhibition imaginatively reworks the permanent collection of the Ukrainian Museum of Canada and is designed to evolve dynamically over time. It comprises six parts:

Tools of the Prairie Pioneers

A display of the tools used by early Ukrainian settlers as they toiled to cultivate the Canadian prairies, build homes, and care for their families.

Ceramics by Peter Rupchan

An unsuccessful Ukrainian homesteader in Saskatchewan, Rupchan found solace and sustenance in pottery, building his own pottery wheel and kiln, mining and processing clay and glazes, and marketing his creations by selling them from his wagon to local communities.

Folk Art from the Collection

A showcase of the vibrant and colourful paintings and sculptures of Ukrainian Canadian folk artists, including well-known figures Ann Harbuz, Dmytro Stryjek, Molly Lenhardt, and William Kurelek.

Legacy in Photographs

A heartfelt display of early 20th-century family photographs belonging to Ukrainian settlers, now in the archives of the Ukrainian Museum of Canada.

All We Carry

A collection of trunks that were once the precious possessions of the first Ukrainian settlers arriving in Canada, along with a display of the objects packed inside them, including tools, textiles, and seeds.

Echoes of Home

A soundtrack of Ukrainian and early Ukrainian Canadian folksongs, resonating with homesickness and reflecting the hardships endured by the pioneers in a foreign land—guest curated by acclaimed Ukrainian folk singer and ethnomusicologist, Olga Zaitseva-Herz (Zaitsa).