Ukrainian art in Washington
Myron Hlynka
Title: Art Building Bridges between U.S., Ukraine
by Cynthia L.Webb, Scripps Howard Service
McLean, Virginia - Ten year old Viktoria Boichuk, an artist from Ukraine,
smiled for a photograph in fromt of her painting - a girl on a balcony,
arms stretched acrossa peach and blue sky, a dove flying overhead.
The painting, displayed at the McLean Center for the Arts in this
Washington suburb, symbolized peace, Viktoria said.
Her work is part of an exhibit featuring paintings by Ukrainian and
American kids in an exchange programthat began last summer when 13 American
teenagers and 10 adults travelled to Ukraine.
This summer, seven youths and two adults from mikolaiv, Ukraine,
visited Washington, for a two week crash course on American art and
culture. The program was developed by Washington, D.C. art curator
and gallery owner Alla Rogers, whose family is from Ukraine. She
specializes in Central and Eastern European Art.
Travelling to America from Ukraine is more than a 17 hour plane ride.
It is also a voyage into a country whose economic, political, and
social conditions are drastically different.
The former Soviet Republic of 52 million people has been struggling
since it became independent in 1992. A 70 % inflation rate, lack of
jobs, and troubles over nuclear disarmament have left Ukrainians
scrambling to enjoy their new freeedom.
"There was persecution of language and culture during the Soviet
period. Ten million people died. you have to picture that the Russian
policy was to destroy the Ukrainian culture," Rogers said, explaining
why she started the exchange program.
"There is a sense that you are building something that has a lasting
impact," she said. "It's just the beginning. I hope to see young
American and Ukrainian artists experience the culture of art directly.
Program participants visited with professional artists, had painting
workshops and went sightseeing.
The American students said their visit to Ukraine changed their
perspective on life.
"People in America live like kings, but don't appreciate it," said
Shennan Weiss, a 15 year old Washington , D.C. native who went to
Ukraine last summer.
"There's an unreal amount of wealth in America. Pepsi was like two
cents in Ukraine, but I noticed that despite the economy, people were
surviving. You don't need a good economy to be happy.
Fifteen year old Jessica Webb-Simpson, a ballet and music student,
agreed.
"Nobody really cared about the things we do," Webb-Simpson said.
"They really try to use what they have. Their lifestyles are a lot simpler."
"We are the same as the children here, except the language and the
huge choice here," said 12-year old Maksym Hrytsai.
"Jurassic Park was a popular film in Ukraine. But pizza, McDonald's,
and video games, are still foreign to most Ukrainians," he said.
Adjusting to the hustle and bustle of American life was hard at first
for the Ukrainians.
Despite the culture shock, the young Ukrainian artists said they were
happy to be in America.
"Adults don't know how to communicate. It always ends in war.
Hopefully, this can change through art," Andrij Horbachov said.
"I don't look at the situation with optimism, but with hope."
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Myron Hlynka
Dept. of Math. & Stat.
University of Windsor
Windsor, Ontario, Canada