Feb. 24 marks the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Cultural and Humanitarian Institute will honor the country’s resilience against the ongoing attack with 10 public events over five weeks starting this weekend in Carnegie.
“Art. Love. Freedom — A Celebration of Ukrainian Art and Human Resilience” begins with a panel discussion on the full-scale war from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday at the 3rd Street Gallery. Jewish Family and Community Services refugee and immigrant services manager Brenda Lee Green, DTCare President Marco Gruelle, and Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church‘s pastor the Rev. Jason Charron will participate. UCHI President Stephen Haluszczak will moderate.
The organization and its partners, which include the Vovk Foundation and Carnegie’s 3rd Street Gallery and Double Dog Studio, deliberately chose art as a connector for the series. Haluszczak, who has visited the country several times during the war, including last year, said no matter what destruction Russia has wreaked on Ukraine, its culture continues to thrive and offers inspiration.
“The show will highlight the deep effects that art has on our lives, contained in the crucible of a country and people whose culture has been under brutal foreign attack for well beyond the three years of the full-scale war. Ukraine lives despite devastation; Ukraine creates, countering destruction; Ukraine celebrates in opposition oppression — providing a ray of hope to people all over the world,” the UCHI president said in a news release announcing the events.
Panelists will explain the scope of the displacement Ukrainians have endured the past three years and the uncertainty that swirls around them. Haluszczak said the war is “not just a land grab. Russia has wanted to obliterate Ukrainian identity for decades. They take what they want — land, culture — then they lie about it.”
He pointed to the destruction of hospitals, schools and cultural centers as proof. “This is hate from Russia. … It’s so irresponsible. Ukraine has not made any pretenses about [their quest for freedom].” Haluszczak said Ukrainians have also had to fight the Russian disinformation campaign, which has been intensified as the Trump administration started peace talks without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy or any European leaders this week, his approach escalating tensions throughout Europe as well as in the United States.
The art show curated by Lyiv native Viktor Fraze-Frazenko opens next Friday from 7 to 9 p.m. at 3rd Street Gallery and features artists from Carnegie, Western Pennsylvania and creatives leading an art therapy rehabilitation program for children orphaned and displaced by the war. That includes works by Tetiana Mialkovska, who founded and directs Pyaternya, an art therapy-based nonprofit UCHI supports that works with Ukrainian children, widows and soldiers. She spent a month in Western Pennsylvania this past fall. Pianist Taris Vrcek will also perform.
Double Dog Studio will feature the Warm Hands children’s work, and the other artists will be showcased at 3rd Street Gallery.
The show will offer perspectives on how art heals wounds — of the heart, the mind and the soul — Haluszczak said in the news release.
One of the artists whose work will be featured is a Ukrainian portraitist, Haluszczak said, whose work depicts the young people growing up as the war continues and have already started to focus on rebuilding. The art therapy that Pyaternya offers plus its skills development for soldiers who have lost limbs and suffered trauma give them a new lease on life. “These people have had to regroup, reorder their lives,” he said. “The healing art provides, [and its] opening of the mind. It’s exciting to be part of it.”
Mialkovska has reminded him and others that “art must exist in the worst of times, must combat the ugliness of the war, the negativity. Sometimes the best art is created at these times because people think it is their best opportunity.”
Planning for the series began last fall, and Haluszczak is grateful to 3rd Street Gallery and Double Dog Studios, which opened in 2019, according to its website, for their assistance. Illustrator/artist Dave Klug and marketer/consultant Pat Klug bought the former St. Joseph German Catholic Church rectory and moved there. Their goal, according to their website, was to create a place for art exhibitions, education, learning, sharing, gatherings and community strengthening.
Carnegie and the Pittsburgh area are home to significant communities of Americans who trace their heritage to Ukraine and Ukrainian lands, and “these people have made great contributions to the rich ethnic tapestry of the area,” according to the UCHI release.
All events will take place at the 3rd Street Gallery. The rest of the schedule:
- Ukrainian contemporary music performance on Friday, March 7, from 7 to 9 p.m.
- A commemoration of the birth of Ukrainian poet laureate and defender of Ukrainian freedom Taras Shevchenko on Sunday, March 9, from 1 to 4 p.m. This features children from the Ridna Shkola School of Ukrainian Studies.
- Fashion Show of Contemporary Ukrainian Dress on Saturday, March 15, from 6 to 9 p.m.
- Musical Interlude: A Celebration of Ukrainian Music on Sunday, March 16, from 1 to 4 p.m.
- Premiere of the film “Why Ukraine Matters” on Friday, March 21, from 7 to 9 p.m.
- Ukrainian Classical Music Chamber Concert with panel discussion of the “Psychological Impact of the War” on Sunday, March 23, from 1 to 4 p.m.
- U.S. premiere of film “Les Kurbas” Friday, March 28, from 7 to 9 p.m.
- Closing reception featuring the Keystone Chorus Sunday, March 30, from 1 to 4 p.m.
All events are free; some items will be available for purchase, and free will donations will be collected. All proceeds benefit UCHI’s Ukrainian Humanitarian Relief Fund that supports the Warm Hands art therapy rehabilitation and skills development program.
Both galleries will be open during their regular hours: Wednesdays 1 to 3 p.m., Fridays 1 to 3 p.m., Saturdays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sundays 1 to 3 p.m.
Other Ukraine war events
Other events scheduled to coincide with the war’s anniversary include:
The Militant Labor Forum will hold a program protesting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war and to celebrate the Ukrainian people’s three-year fight against it on Sunday at 6 p.m. in East Liberty.
“Moscow assumed its invasion of Ukraine would result in a quick victory, but three years later Ukrainian working people continue the fight to defend their sovereignty,” according to a flyer about the event. “The biggest obstacle to Putin’s goal is Ukrainian working people. Their chief allies are among the Russian workers and farmers, their families and other working people who face the bloody consequences of Putin’s war and his attempts to crush his political opponents at home.”
The Socialist Workers Party’s candidate for Pittsburgh mayor, Tony Lane, will be the speaker. Suggested donation is $5; the forum will take place at 5907 Penn Ave., Suite 313.
For more information call 412-610-2402 or email militantlaborforumpgh@gmail.com.
Ukrainian American Youth of Pittsburgh invite the Pittsburgh community to a memorial demonstration on Monday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. outside Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum, corners of Fifth Avenue and Bigelow Boulevard in Oakland.
Andrew Romanchik, a member of the group, said it has invited Gov. Josh Shapiro, U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and David McCormick, as well as other figures central to the conflict.
A panel discussion, “Ukraine Three Years After the Russian Invasion,” is set for Monday from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at Carnegie Mellon University. It brings together Ukrainian writers and political and historical academics who will examine the enduring impact of this conflict on Europe, the ongoing pursuit of peace and the future trajectory of Ukraine.
Speakers include Max Trecker, visiting associate professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh; Nadiya Kostyuk, assistant professor at the Carnegie Mellon Institute of Strategy & Technology (CMIST); poet and filmmaker Oleksandr Frazé-Frazénko from City of Asylum; and writer and journalist Olena Boryshpolets, also from City of Asylum. They will share their perspectives and expertise. Stephen Brockmann, professor of German at Carnegie Mellon University, will moderate the event.
The event is free and open to all, but co-sponsors the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences Dean’s Office, CMIST and the Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics ask that those interested to please RSVP.
Light snacks and refreshments will be available. It will take place in Posner Hall Grand Room (POS 340), 4980 Margaret Morrison St., Pittsburgh.
St. Peter and St. Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church and Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church have been holding Moloben Prayer Services for Peace at 7 p.m. Tuesdays, alternating sites. The next one is Tuesday at St. Peter and St. Paul. Both churches have ongoing Ukrainian collections for aid to meet urgent and escalating needs.
Helen is a copy editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but she's currently on strike. Contact her at hfallon@unionprogress.com.