Chwyl family donates $750,000Chwyl Family Foundation acquires Library naming opportunity

by vasyl trach

The family of retired engineer Ed Chwyl of Victoria has purchased the naming opportunity for UCAMA’s new library, to be named the Chwyl Family Library, with a donation of $750,000.

“We are, of course, thrilled by the Chwyls’ generosity”, noted President Michelle Tracy. “Not only is this our largest private donation but it also really puts us on the map with such other major cultural projects as the Art Gallery of Alberta. This donation has set a standard for other potential patrons and demonstrates a belief in our work that is beyond value.”

Chwyl grew up outside the small town of Andrew in East Central Alberta, his family having immigrated from Buchach, Ukraine, in 1927. Upon graduating from high school in 1961, he decided to pursue engineering at the University of Alberta, where he struggled during his first year.

“Being exposed to a huge city called Edmonton was an enormous social adjustment for this Ukrainian farm boy. As I progressed through the program, it all became easier.”

“When I graduated in 1965 [with a degree in Chemical Engineering], I interviewed with 10 companies, got nine offers, and chose Pacific

Petroleum who sent me up to Ft. St. John, BC.” Chwyl enjoyed the exposure to the oil patch so much, he returned to the U of A to pursue his MSc in Petroleum Engineering.

Upon receiving his Master’s degree in 1968, Chwyl was ready to see the world. He only interviewed U.S.-based companies and ended up working with Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) in Dallas, Texas where he joined a select group of professionals to study Prudhoe Bay, the giant oil field discovered on

the north slopes of Alaska. Four years later Chwyl returned to the oil scene in Calgary where he capped his career as a founding partner in Tarragon Oil continued on page 6

SPRING 2008

Honourary PatronsThe Honourable Norman L. Kwong, CM, AOE, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta

His Worship Stephen Mandel, Mayor of EdmontonHis Worship Dave Bronconnier, Mayor of Calgary

Mrs. Marie Stelmach

UCAMAM AT T E R S

Chwyl Family donates $750,000President’s MessageUCAMA gets boost from OttawaUCAMA recognized by AMAHorlovy Exhibit at UCAMADigitization of Library CollectionUCAMA attends CMA conference

IN THIS ISSUE

Ed Chwyl

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Message from the PresidentIt is with mixed emotions that I greet our members and friends in the spring issue of UCAMA Matters. I have been honoured to assume the role of the President of UCAMA and look back with pride at our many successes and forward to even greater success in the future. However, it is with sadness that I see Khrystyna Kohut pass on the mantel of the presidency. In order to better serve her role as communications/promotions officer at UCAMA Khrystyna has decided to step down as president. This has been a difficult decision for Khrystyna to make and for the rest of the board to accept. Nevertheless, this decision was made with the best interests of UCAMA in mind. Khrystyna will continue to be heavily involved with UCAMA and the board will continue to benefit from her advice and wisdom. Nestor Makuch has graciously accepted the position of vice-president which I had previously fulfilled.

I would like to introduce our new Board of Directors elected at the May 3 Annual General Meeting. Returning Board members include Nestor Makuch as First Vice-President, Elena Scharabun as Treasurer, Christina Scharabun as Secretary and myself as President. Additional returning members include Dr. Alexander Makar, Barry Newton, Paul Teterenko, and Bill Tracy. A special welcome is extended to new members Myron Lahola, Yip Lee, and Mark Palka who has accepted the position of Second Vice-President.

Your board has been extremely active over the last six months working with consultants in preparation of an application to the Federal government with the financial assistance of Western Economic Diversification. At the same time, smaller financial donations and donations of archival and ethnographic collections continue to flow into the museum. Although it may appear that we spend all our time chasing large grants, we are extremely grateful for the smaller gifts and the gifts to the museum collections. As any museum can tell you, it is the generosity of these gifts that allow the museum to grow. Please take a moment to read our donors section which has become a regular feature of our newsletter.

If you are considering making a financial donation to UCAMA, I would urge you to do so now. We are in the midst of consolidating our resources to push construction forward while there is a lull in the building trades. Our architects and construction manager tell us this is the best time to commence as they expect the upward cycle of construction escalation to resume next year. This coupled with the Province’s new Community Spirit Program and enhanced charitable tax credit make it a perfect time to support UCAMA.

Please remember we depend on your generosity.

The Honourable Norman L. Kwong CM, AOE, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta

His Worship Stephen Mandel, Mayor of Edmonton

His Worship Dave Bronconnier, Mayor of Calgary

Mrs. Marie Stelmach

Honourary Patrons

Michelle Tracy President

U C A M A M A T T E R S – S P R I N G 2 0 0 8

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The Ukrainian Canadian Archives and Museum of Alberta (UCAMA) received a boost toward its redevelopment efforts thanks to an investment of $75,000 from the Government of Canada.

The Honourable Rona Ambrose, President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of Western Economic Diversification, announced the funding February 1. “The redevelopment of the Ukrainian Canadian Archives and Museum of Alberta will have a positive impact on the economic revitalization of Edmonton’s downtown,” said Minister Ambrose. “This investment of $75,000 will contribute to the efforts of the museum to fulfill its vision of becoming a world-class attraction and a key part of Edmonton’s growth and prosperity.”

The redevelopment of UCAMA is a key initiative within the City of Edmonton’s downtown economic revitalization strategy. The funding from Western Economic Diversification Canada will allow UCAMA to further develop its strategic business plan in order to position its redevelopment efforts

within the downtown economic revitalization strategy. UCAMA will also continue its efforts to secure the funding required to develop downtown Edmonton’s historic Lodge Hotel into a new facility for the museum and its collections.

“We recognize the important role the Ukrainian community has played in the growth and development of our nation,” said the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry. “Prominent Ukrainian Canadians, such as former Governor General Ramon Hnatyshyn and Supreme Court Judge John Sopinka, understood the vital need to champion diversity and multiculturalism, which changed the fabric of the country forever.”

“The support from Western Economic Diversification Canada represents an important step towards our goal of creating a museum that strengthens the cultural and economic vibrancy of Edmonton’s downtown area,” said Michelle Tracy, President of the UCAMA. “This facility will become a lasting legacy that will allow Albertans and visitors alike to celebrate and learn more about the Ukrainian culture and its people.”

UCAMA has been awarded the Recognized Museum designation from the Alberta Museums Association. To earn this designation, UCAMA provided a panel of Association members with evidence demonstrating how we are meeting recognized museum standards.

“Even though we have successfully operated as a museum for 34 years this designation is still important to us” explained President Michelle Tracy. “Without it we would not be able to apply to the Association for grants.”

UCAMA receives boost from OttawaWESTERN ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION GRANT TO SPARK REDEVELOPMENT

Alberta Museums Association recognizes UCAMA

The Honourable Rona Ambrose

The Honourable Jim Prentice

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На початку листопада 2007 р. в Едмонтоні, у приміщенні Українсько-канадського архіву та музею відбулася виставка скуль-птури Михайла Горлового та кераміки Лесі Горлової. Батько й

дочка Горлові приїхали в Канаду з Києва на відкриття своїх виставок у Торонті та Едмонтоні, які були влаштовані Галиною та Богданом Клідами за сприяння ґалереї КУМФ, Українсько-канадського архіву та музею Альберти, зокрема прези-дента УКАМА, пані Христини Когут.

Михайло Горловий (нар. 1952 р.) почав навчання у Київському художньому інституті в 1986 р. — в рік Чорнобиля. Відзначаючись високою національною свідомістю українця та небайдужістю до того,

що діється навколо нього, Михайло був активістом Народнього Руху України і Товариства «Просвіта». У неспокійні часи передодня неза-лежности України його знали на вулицях Києва як учасника гаря-

чих дискусій про мову та її статус в Україні. В інституті йому було приклеєно ярлик «націоналіст» і за дружбу з ним погрожували виклю-чати з інституту. Значна частина праць Михайла присвячена минулому та прадавній історії України. У них, зокрема, про-стежуються кілька впливів, коріння яких беруть від трипільскої та скитської культур, примітивістичні конструкції яких демонструють досконалі взірці та карбування, а їхня містика надихає скульптора. Ці впливи спрямовують скульптора

на створення цілої низки праць, у яких поєднуються стародавні концепції із сучасними формами, які не обтяжені зайвими деталями і відзначається чистотою ліній, виразністю та глибокою метафори-кою.Михайла неодноразово запрошува-ли на міжнародні конкурси в Ліван, де він створив сім стилізованих скульптур на українські теми висо-тою три метри.Працює скульптор з різними матеріялами: камінь, глина, дере-во, але саме майстерність пере-творення бронзи в естетичну та функціональну форму — чи не найважчому для обробки матеріялі — викликає у його глядачів шано-бливе захоплення.Усе свідоме життя Михайло ніби під’єднаний невидимим зв’язком до багатої жили стародавньої української цивілізації. Це дало йому змогу виробити око на прості, але вишукані форми. Ця простота ліній і форм скульптур поєднуються із глибиною закладеної в кожній праці думки, складністю образів та сакральністю змісту. Скульптури Михайла Горлового знаходяться у приватних та дер-жавних збірках України, Канади, Австралії, Лівану, Іспанії, Франції, Австрії, Польщі, Сірії та ін. Його праці включені в багатьох мистець-ких каталогах та журналах. Леся Горлова, керамісткаРазом з батьком у виставці взяла участь донька Михайла, Леся

continued on page 5

Таке прадавнє, модерне мистецтво...Галина Клід

Mykhaylo Horlovy (center) addresses the crowd at the opening of exhibit at UCAMA (Photo courtesy Roman Petriw)

U C A M A M A T T E R S – S P R I N G 2 0 0 8

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In conjunction with the Peter and Doris Kule Centre for Ukrainian and Canadian Folklore at the University of Alberta UCAMA has undertaken a digitization project of their library holdings. While the current library at the museum may hold some 15,000 catalogued volumes, the total collection exceeds 40,000 volumes with new donations being received on a regular basis. “Space is at a tremendous premium until we are able to move into our new facility”, explained President Michelle Tracy. “We are forced to store much of our collection off site where it is inaccessible to the public. I see this as a major step toward properly caring for this portion of our collection. With this new computerized system we will be able to manage our collection much more efficiently. Surplus volumes can be easily identified and de-accessioned according to our existing library

policies while multiple copies of the rarer editions can be quickly identified and protected.”

With funds provided by the Peter and Doris Kule Centre and working with Dr. Andriy Nahachewsky, UCAMA was able to hire Greg Borowetz for a year to undertake this project.

Greg is originally from Canora, Saskatchewan, a town of about 2,500 individuals. Growing up, he participated in amateur dramatic and musical productions in this Ukrainian Canadian community and was the assistant cantor at the Ukrainian Catholic Church during his high school and early university years. Greg initially studied music at the University of Saskatchewan. Last December he successfully defended his master’s thesis at the University of Alberta

in Ukrainian Folklore on the topic of Ukrainian proverbs.

The project involves computerizing the catalogued books in the UCAMA library into a FileMaker Pro system. This is the same data storage system that has been used to catalogue UCAMA’s ethnographic collection. At 35 hours per week, it should take over a year to computerize the currently catalogued library. The primary categories of input include the author, title, date of publication, publisher and call number. In addition there are a dozen other categories including the place of publication, language, and a description of the contents. When this phase of the project is complete UCAMA will be able to efficiently deal with the thousands of volumes of books that have not been catalogued.

Digitization of library collection

Горлова (нар. 1981 р.). Леся — керамістка, працює в українсько-історичній тематиці, що також охоплює трипільску та скитську культури, народнє мистецтво різних періодів. Окрім скульптурної пластики, вона також працює з гончарним колом, у графіці та живописі.Леся Горлова закінчила з відзнакою Київський державний інститут декоративно-прикладного мистецт-ва і дизайну імені Михайла Бойчука, факультет художньої кераміки (у 2005 р.) З 1996 року активно бере участь у всеукраїнський виставках, має дві персональні виставки. Вона є дипломанткою кількох конкурсів. Її праці є в колекціях музеїв України, a також у приватних колекціях України та зарубіжжя.

Mykhaylo Horlovy (right) shows one oh his scupltures to Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko (left) at a gallery in Kyiv

horlovy eXhibit continued FroM page 4

PROJECT WILL ENSURE ACCESSIBILITY OF UCAMA’S BOOK COLLECTION

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CAPITAL CAMPAIGN Naming Opportunities Available

Main Gallery $1,500,000 Gallery A $1,500,000 Gallery B $1,500,000 Main Stair $1,000,000 Canyon Stair $1,000,000 Library* $750,000

South Gallery $750,000 East Gallery $500,000 Rear Gallery $500,000 Archives $500,000 Roof Top South Terrace/Garden $250,000 Founder’s Room* $200,000 North Window $175,000 Multipurpose Room $150,000

Roof Top East Terrace/Garden $150,000 South Double Windows (2) $50,000 South Single Windows (12) $25,000 East Mini-Windows (13) $10,000 *SOLD

For more information call UCAMA at 424-7580 or visit www.ucama.ca

and Gas Limited. In a period of nine years Tarragon grew from a market cap of $20 million to $1.5 billion when it was sold to Marathon Oil in 1998.

A modest man with strong Christian values, Chwyl describes himself as a spiritual traditionalist. “Yes, always strive to do your best, but also acknowledge that your success depends more on elements out of your control than it does on you. Timing, luck, and divine intervention trump personal achievements every

time.” He is also grateful for the years of support and encouragement he received from the entire Chwyl family and for this reason, he says that

“calling it the Chwyl Family Library is most apropos.”

UCAMA was certainly lucky that Chwyl saw a 30 second public service announcement about the museum plans on Public Television from Seattle and was intrigued enough to phone our office. And as they say, “the rest is history.”

chWyl donation continued FroM page 1

The Chwyl Family Library will be located on the top floor of the new UCAMA museum, overlooking Jasper Avenue, as visualized in this cutaway rendition

U C A M A M A T T E R S – S P R I N G 2 0 0 8

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UCAMA President Michelle Tracy and Communications Officer Khrystyna Kohut attended the Canadian Museums Association annual conference in Victoria from April 8 through the 12th .

The two attended sessions on the digitization of museum collections; rethinking the role of museums in a diverse society; cultural tourism; and space rentals and alternative revenue sources. As well, the UCAMA web-site was chosen as one of three from across the country to be discussed by a panel of experts in the field of web-site design in an open forum entitled “Born with Potential”. As a result UCAMA will receive a written critique of our site and will have had it exposed to a national audience.

In addition to attending the conference, Michelle and Khrystyna met with our benefactors Ed Chwyl and Peter Shostak, as well as other interested potential supporters. “There is a good deal of serious interest in what we are doing, both from a museology perspective and from potential financial support. For example, the director of the McCord Museum in Montreal expressed interest in what we are doing as part of a larger project in which she is engaged. We are on the leading edge of museum development in many ways, a position that is generating support for the project,” stated Michelle Tracy. “It’s reassuring to find that the leading museums across the country are taking the same path that we have chosen for UCAMA.”

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Thank you for your support of the Ukrainian Canadian Archives & Museum Of Alberta!

Ukrainian Canadian Archives & Museum of Alberta, 9543-110 Avenue, T5H 1H3, P: 780.424.7580, F: 780.420.0562, E: ucama@shaw.ca W: www.ucama.com, Hours of Operation: Tues-Fri, 10 am 5pm, Sat, 12 noon-5 pm, Sun-Mon & Statutory Holidays, Closed

UCAMA attends Canadian Museums Association conference in Victoria

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There are four easy ways to send us your pledge:Mail: 9543–110 Ave, Edmonton, Alberta T5H 1H3 Phone: 780-424-7580 Fax: 780-420-0562 Email: ucama@shaw.ca

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FOR MUSEUM AND NAMING OPPORTUNITIES

Contact UCAMA at 424-7580 or ucama@shaw.ca

On February 23 over 200 Ukrainian fight fans attended a televised broadcast of the Wladimir Klitschko versus Sultan Ibragimov fight at the Ukrainian Youth Unity Complex. The fight was organized by Promin Sport, a part of the League of Ukrainian Canadians.

At the suggestion of Taras Podilsky, the evening’s door proceeds were allocated to the Ukrainian Canadian Archives and Museum of Alberta. We are very grateful to the League of Ukrainian Canadians for this show of support for our new museum project. We were also pleased that over $1,000 was collected for UCAMA’s capital campaign.

Many thanks to our recent donors who include:

Ms. Wendy DavisPaintings

Mr. Bill DiachukBooks and calendars

Ms. Barbara FinlayEthnographic item

Mrs. Luba BaziukBooks

Ms. Joanne Harward (nee Hasay)Books, Calendars, ethnographic items, archival material

Dr. Bohdan & Mrs. Halyna KlidBooks

Mr. Walter & Mrs. Jean LitvinEthnographic items

Mr. Andrew & Mrs. Luba LyshakBooks

Mr. Yuri & Mrs. Luba MoskalBooks, archives, ethnographic items

Mr. John ProsciakBooks and calendars

William PuraEthnographic items

Ms. Jean RyanBooks

Mr. Robert & Mrs. Kathryn SinclairEthnographic items

Mrs. Sophia SkrypnykBooks and calendars

Mr. Walter & Mrs. Nellie YacyshynPhonograph records

Mr. & Mrs. Henry WicentowichLP Records, 8 track tape, and 8 track player

It is through the generosity of these and other donors that our collections continue to grow.

Donations to the Collections Klitschko Wins UCAMA Wins