South Side arts and culture event celebrates Ukrainian Independence Day — with gratitude

Thirty-three years ago Ukraine tired of oppression from the Soviet Union and voted to become an independent nation. Its people could finally freely celebrate their culture, art, language and religious identity.

This Saturday, the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Institute and DTCare, a Moon-based nonprofit organization that runs big initiatives in the country, will celebrate Ukrainian Independence Day with a special event at St. Vladimir Ukrainian Orthodox Church, located at the corner of South 18th and Sidney streets on the South Side.

In February, the two organizations marked the second anniversary of the war Russia continues to wage against Ukraine with a program in Carnegie. This time they decided to join forces again in a different way: a celebration of the country’s culture with activities and performances. The free event will take place outdoors on church grounds, a block off East Carson Street, from 1 to 4 p.m.

“This event serves as a heartfelt gesture of gratitude for the unwavering support the U.S. has shown to Ukraine’s resilient people,” organizers wrote in an event news release. “It aims to foster community by providing a venue for attendees to engage, learn and strengthen collaborative efforts.”

Highlights include an arts-themed festival with local vendors, traditional Ukrainian cuisine available for purchase, cultural videos, dance performances, live music and master artist demonstrations. Attendees can also participate in interactive activities, such as pysanky egg decorating, and learn about Ukrainian folk traditions alongside contemporary arts and culture showcases, according to the news release.

Information will be available from these two groups and others, too, about their ongoing aid efforts as the war perseveres. And they do so as a new aspect of the war arose. Ukrainian forces conducted a surprise invasion into Russia on Aug. 6 and solidified their positions two weeks after that breakthrough, according to NPR.

Stephen Haluszczack, president and founder of UCHI, went to Zamlynna, Ukraine, in April and May to visit the Warm Hands art therapy rehabilitation and skills developing training program his organization supports there.  He traveled with Terry Rajasenasan, founder of the High Reliability Organization Council of Pittsburgh, and they met with leaders and staff of Pyaternya, the Ukrainian organization that sponsors the program for children displaced by war, orphans and children living in protected custody.

 Haluszczack said he knew a great deal about Ukrainian art and culture but not much about art therapy. The UCHI’s involvement with it started back in the summer of 2022. The connection is how strong Ukrainian culture in the arts is and remains a driving force as the war continues.

He will explain what he learned there at Saturday’s event, but what stands out to him is how art helps the children create new relationships. “We saw that bond in these camps,” Haluszczack said. “They have lost these bonds. They have moved with their families hundreds of miles. They have to rebuild everything, and this art therapy does that.”

As the children start out, “they are traumatized; they are damaged. They forget how to play, therapists say.” He continued, “They have small victories, build friendships.  [Therapists] teach them how to make friends again, to trust again, and it’s through the art.  To see hope and a future. They need that guidance as their main source is all gone.”

One of the art forms the students learn or relearn is how to create pysanky, which is important. “The Easter egg, pysanky, is such a symbol of Ukraine around the world,” Haluszczack said. “Nothing, not anyone can take that away from them.”

DTCare just held its first Hero’s Compass program for Ukrainian veterans, a specialized adventure-based counseling initiative to support them as they return to civilian life. The eight-day retreat also includes daily art therapy. Two more sessions will take place in the coming weeks.

Kara Walsh, DTCare assistant program manager, said art therapy helps participants process trauma and overcomes some of the stigma of mental health treatment and can cross generational and gender lines. The other benefit is it helps the Ukrainians preserve their culture through art. “Ukrainian culture is so beautiful, so vibrant,” she said. “The music, art and dance. It’s also really approachable for the public. So beautiful.”  

And that is what the two organizations want to share with Pittsburgh residents, Walsh said, which they hope “opens their eyes a little more. I think it also gives the public a way to think about what is going on [in Ukraine] a little differently.”

The Soviets had suppressed Ukrainian arts, culture, language and religion when they controlled the country. Ukrainians could be imprisoned, exiled or killed for disobeying, especially if they appeared to be working toward independence from the communist nation.

That fact is something Haluszczack learned from Taras Filenko, a noted scholar and performer of Ukrainian music, who is one of two featured performers at Saturday’s event. A graduate of the National Academy of Music in Kyiv, he went on to serve as a member of the faculty there and eventually as associate dean of conducting and voice. Filenko came to the United States and earned a doctorate in ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1998.

In his performances, Filenko makes a connection with culture and politics, Haluszczack said, explaining how Ukrainian culture has come under attack from Russia. “The [Ukrainian] language had been forbidden for decades. Even those Ukrainian artistic figures could only compose in Russian. Their work has been misattributed to being Russian, but they had no other choice.”

The now retired professor, who has taught at Pittsburgh universities and still tutors, will speak a bit about this on Saturday. “He can put things in a clear picture of how this is happening,” the UCHI president said. “He has been dedicating his life to this cause.”

The second featured performer is Kateryna Boiko, a Ukrainian and vocal coach who now lives in the Pittsburgh area. She performed earlier this year at a Ukrainian-themed event at City of Asylum and the February event that UCHI and DTCare organized. She shared some of her experiences in a Sharing Our Story video.

The February event the two groups organized was more formal, both said, and it didn’t leave much time for people to talk and learn about Ukrainian culture and heritage. So Saturday’s event will be more like a picnic, Walsh said, to ensure that happens. Learning about how UCHI and DTCare’s work and aid to Ukraine, as well as other Pittsburgh-area groups, is a bonus.

Filenko and Boiko’s performances are scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. Ukrainian food prepared by St. Vladimir Church and Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church in Carnegie parishioners, as well as a local dessert vendor, will be available for purchase throughout the day.

DTCare and UCHI started planning for this event in July. The institute held two prior events marking Ukraine Independence Day, one at the Carnegie Borough Building.

Working together, both organizations found their common goal. “The local Ukrainian American community so greatly appreciates the incredible support that Pittsburgh and the entire U.S. have given to Ukraine, and we wanted to use this special day to show this gratitude by sharing this free event showcasing Ukrainian culture,” Haluszczack said in the news release. “We also want to inform people how much aid Pittsburgh-area organizations and people are actually giving because these efforts occur humbly with great sincerity and little fanfare.”

And holding it outside the church’s building gives Haluszczack hope that it will just attract people walking by on what should be — according to weather forecasts — a sunny August Saturday.

“Tents will be up, and there are some trees [on the church’s greenspace]. We hope people just passing by and hearing the music will be drawn in to the event,” he said.