The Ukrainian Museum

1976 - present

The Ukrainian Museum was created by the Ukrainian National Women's League of America in 1976. It contains an archive capturing the history and culture of Ukraine through photography, flyers, and artifacts. The collections in the Museum are divided into different sections like the historical archive, fine arts, and folk art. The Museum also offers courses in hopes of preserving Ukrainian culture such as in embroidery, traditional breadmaking also known as gerdany, and traditional baking or pysanka in the Ukrainian language (NYC-Arts WNET, 2024). It is the largest Museum in North America dedicated to preserving and showcasing Ukrainian history and culture. In 2005, the Museum moved to its current location which is near Cooper Square and East Village, thus accessible to communities residing in the Lower East Side and across New York City as well. The building was built by Ukrainian architect George Sawicki and was "funded principally by the Ukrainian American community" so it is deeply rooted within the Ukrainian community both in its origin and present formation (The Ukrainian Museum, 2024). The Museum categorizes itself as " a non-profit membership institution" that hopes to preserve Ukrainian history and culture to educate the public (The Ukrainian Museum, 2024). The Board of Trustees consists of 2 sections: the Executive Board such as Adrian Hewryk as President and the General Board such as Mark Bach. There are currently 12 staff members including Daria Bajko as Administrative Director and Lubow Wolynetz as Folk Art Curator.