Greetings!
On behalf of everyone at the Ukrainian Museum of Canada, I hope that you and your loved ones have enjoyed a safe and joyful holiday season. We continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine and hope that peace comes soon.
In October 2022, the Ukrainian Museum of Canada launched a new website and online membership management system. We are pleased to offer you regular updates by email, online registration for events, and regular online programming coming in 2023 (more on this below). The system still has a few bugs to work out, however, and we appreciate your patience as we work through some minor technical issues related to membership sign-up.
I would like to reassure you:
• If your membership is paid to your Manitoba, Alberta (Edmonton), Calgary, or Vancouver branch, you do not need to pay for a membership with us in Saskatoon. We receive regular updates from the branches, and we will continue to enter your membership manually into our system. If you are a member through one of these branches, please ignore any email or Canada Post mail reminders to renew your membership in Saskatoon.
• Members of Ukrainian Museum of Canada Ontario branch who wish to be members of Ukrainian Museum of Canada in Saskatoon must take out a separate membership with us. Our system will keep track of your renewal dates for you, and you will begin to receive reminders one month before your membership expires.
• If you do not currently receive news from us via email and want to, please contact us to register your email address.
• You may access your own account through our website to update your address, telephone number, email address, and more. We also gratefully receive donations through our website!
And finally:
• If you are experiencing any technical issues related to online membership renewal, please contact us! We will be happy to help you trouble-shoot, or we can enter your information manually.
In October, I traveled to Winnipeg to attend the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Triennial Convention. While there, I was able to spend time with our second Vice-President Marusia Foster from the Ukrainian Museum of Canada Manitoba Branch, Ukrainian Museum of Canada Ontario branch Administrator Tamara Ivanochko-Haney, and several Museum members from across the country. I also met former Executive Director Linda Lazarovich, and had the pleasure of viewing long-standing member Leonard Krawchuk’s most impressive collection of Ukrainian artefacts at his home. Of course, I spent time at the Ukrainian Museum of Canada Manitoba branch, where I took in the wonderful Women of Influence exhibit. And I still smile every day when I use the tote bag I purchased from their gift store, made by Museum members and embellished with a beautiful piece of vyshyvka. Congratulations to all the volunteers at the Manitoba branch for your outstanding, professional work! It was a privilege to visit your facility.
We have been very busy in Saskatoon. Our fall Motanka workshops proved to be very popular, and our documentary film series has been drawing a regular audience for viewing and conversation. John Koenig’s lecture series on the Ukrainian avant-garde was captivating, and his talk on Jewish Ukrainian artists for the first Saskatchewan Jewish Cultural Festival, brought in close to 50 people. These talks will be available to view online in the new year.
Our board has begun an important strategic planning process, led by Saskatchewan consultant Jeremy Morgan. As part of this process, Mr. Morgan reached out to many members across the country for preliminary feedback in the Fall, and we are grateful for the input of these individuals.
The Museum’s last strategic plan dates from 2011, so these conversations are long overdue. We expect to have a new strategic plan to help guide our work for the next five years in the first month or two of 2023. I am grateful for our board’s dedication and ability to work through the significant challenge of rethinking the Museum to meet the needs of current and future generations.
Included in the printed version of this newsletter is a Membership Survey. Your participation in this survey is important as we are completing work on the Strategic Plan. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey and send it back to us. Those of you with email addresses registered with the Museum will soon receive an online version of the survey – this will be an even easier way to participate.
We hope that you enjoy this Winter’s programming at the Museum. Between new exhibitions, our ongoing documentary film series, and weaving and pysanky workshops, we have a little something for everyone at our Saskatoon location. Members living outside the Saskatoon region can also enjoy our online lectures and conversations, both live and recorded.
I extend my warmest wishes to you and your loved ones in 2023.
З Новим роком!
Jen Budney, Executive Director and CEO