Achi news desk-
With the second anniversary of the war in Ukraine having come and gone, Arts Commons welcomes artists with ties to the war-torn country to showcase their talents.
Sarah Garton Stanley, known as SGS, is Arts Common’s vice president of programming and says the Ukrainian art forms highlighted for the month are a reflection of the struggle and spirit of the people and how important their culture is to them. and to the world.
“For people to be able to express their pain, their concern, their concern, their views, absolutely,” Stanley said. “But really, just to be able to say that we see you, we hear you and we understand that you are at a critical moment in the history of your culture.”
Stanley says at the start of the war it was expected to be over in a few weeks but now – as it drags on into a third year with no end in sight – Ukrainian culture is at risk.
“When I think about reconciliation, when I think about what it means to be able to allow voices to exist, to live, to work together, I would say that Ukraine is in a very similar moment in their history,” said Stanley . “Fighting for their right, their identity, their ability to be.”
ROLLER COASTER OF RHYTHMIC STRYHMPING
This month, Arts Commons is hosting Dakha Brakha from Kyivwhich takes audiences on an extraordinary journey of rhythmic storytelling and folk culture rooted in traditional Ukrainian sounds while inspiring cultural and artistic freedom.
Iryna Kalinovich and Khrystyna Kolodii will hold performances using traditional bandura and singing folk songs.
Kalinovich arrived in Calgary 11 years ago and still has many family members living in Ukraine.
“It is very important during this very difficult period for Ukraine, it is a kind of being cultural ambassadors,” he said. “We are Ukrainians, we have a rich culture and we are fighting for democracy in the world.”
Noble Seggie is a self-taught pysanky artist who has set up their tools in the Lightbox Studio at Arts Commons.
Seggie has a number of empty eggs ready to work on, along with many finished eggs on display. The studio has been designed with a wall of windows for the public to see the work in progress and that is something Seggie is not used to.
“Just getting people to stop and look, it’s actually really nice to get that recognition from the community,” they said.
Seggie is a third generation Ukrainian Canadian and says many of the finished eggs tell a story and were inspired to action when the war broke out.
“I was very shocked by the Putin government saying there is no such thing as Ukrainian culture,” Seggie said. “So I wanted to capture my own experiences and how I felt about the strong culture.”
Seggie draws on an egg with a pencil. Then trace over it with a kistka which leaves a trail of wax behind.
“It’s filled with beeswax and you write the design on the eggshell, once you’ve done that one colour, you put it in the dye, and then it’s ready for the next color,” they said. “It’s an iterative process of wax and then dying creating layers until you have that final piece and you melt all the wax away and you have an amazing piece.”
Seggie is happy to be part of the month-long event at Arts Commons and hopes that Ukrainians displaced by the war will come to see her work along with the other leading artists.
“Helping them feel more comfortable here, whether they are here forever, or whether they are here until the war is over is really important,” they said.
Learn more about Ukrainian artists at Arts Commons here:
