Ukrainian Museum-Archives
| Established | 1952 (members) 1977 (public) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1202 Kenilworth Avenue, Tremont, Cleveland, Ohio |
| Coordinates | 41°28′48″N 81°41′25″W / 41.479965°N 81.69021°W |
| Type | Heritage museum |
Collection size | 25,000+ pieces |
| Founders | Leonid Bachynsky Alexander Fedynsky |
Executive director | Paul Burlij |
| Director | Andrii Fedynskyi |
| President | Taras Mahlay |
| Chairperson | Kristina Kvartsyana |
| Curator | Aniza Kraus |
| Website | umacleveland |
The Ukrainian Museum-Archives (UMA) opened privately in 1952 and publicly, as a non-profit, in 1977.[1] Housed in a one-time convent for Ukrainian nuns turned one-time home for Ukrainian boy scouts, the three-story late 19th-century home is located in Cleveland's historic Tremont neighborhood.[2] There, two displaced Ukrainian scholars "took on the mission of collecting and preserving items from Ukrainian history and culture during an era when this kind of material was being deliberately destroyed in the Soviet Ukraine."[2][3]
Their holdings now contain both a library with 45,000 books and 1,800 unique periodicals and one of the most extensive collections of Displaced Persons (DP) materials published in post-WWII European DP camps.[4] It also contains a wide-ranging collection of archival ephemera, with tens of thousands of posters, postcards, photographs, stamps, and currency, and an extensive collection of recordings, with more than 2,000 rare 78 rpm and LP records.[5] Its art collection spans both the work of renowned fine artists like sculptor Alexander Archipenko and painter-printmaker Jacques Hnizdovsky and traditional folk art, such as pysanky (Easter eggs), embroidery, and woodcarvings.[5][6]
Considered a world-class archival leader, the UMA has partnered with the "United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the National Academy of Sciences in Ukraine, and other institutions interested in digitizing its hidden gems."[7] In 2020, it also partnered with the Department of Modern and Contemporary History of Foreign Countries at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and the Ukrainian Association of American Studies.[8] Together, they published Sharing America’s Story with Ukraine: The Voice of America’s Ukrainian Service, 1949-2019, a series of essays and research papers on the 70th anniversary of the Ukrainian Service of the Voice of America (VOA).[9] Describing the project, the UMA briefly encapsulates Ukraine's intellectual journey:
For seven decades—from the dark days of the Cold War to the declaration of Ukraine’s independence to the Orange Revolution and the Euromaidan Revolution of Dignity—millions of Ukrainians have been tuning in to VOA to hear America’s message of freedom, democracy, rule of law, respect for national identity and Western security and solidarity.[10]
U.S.-Ukraine Agreement
In 1998, the Government of Ukraine "requested that the UMA prepare a pilot project that has since been incorporated into the U.S.-Ukraine Agreement on the Protection and Preservation of Cultural Heritage."[3][11] The UMA, Ohio State University and Cleveland State University then offered courses on Ukrainian History and Culture.[3] That allowed the UMA to apply for federal grants, and subsequently "gave the museum the seed money to build the archival building, allowing it to store collections in a properly regulated environment."[12]
References
- ↑ Rotman, Michael. "Ukrainian Museum-Archives". Cleveland Historical. Retrieved April 8, 2026.
- 1 2 Rotman, Michael. "Ukrainian Museum-Archives". Cleveland Historical. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
- 1 2 3 "About Us – umacleveland.org". Retrieved April 8, 2026.
- ↑ "UKRAINIAN MUSEUM-ARCHIVES, INC". Encyclopedia of Cleveland History | Case Western Reserve University. February 20, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
- 1 2 "Museum – umacleveland.org". Retrieved April 8, 2026.
- ↑ "Ukrainian Museum-Archives". markstrecker.com. Retrieved April 8, 2026.
- ↑ Kulick, Orysia Maria (March 5, 2020). "Ukrainian Museum-Archives of Cleveland - Registry - Courage – Connecting collections". cultural-opposition.eu. Retrieved April 8, 2026.
- ↑ "Українська Асоціація Американістики - The Ukrainian Association for American Studies". uaas.org.ua. Retrieved April 8, 2026.
- ↑ "«Sharing America's Story with Ukraine: the Voice of America's Ukrainian Service, 1949–2019»: Collection of Scientific Articles and Materials on the History of the Ukrainian Service «Voice of America» | American History and Politics". July 3, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2026.
- ↑ "Research – umacleveland.org". Retrieved April 8, 2026.
- ↑ White House, Office of the Press Secretary (March 4, 1994). "Fact Sheet on US Ukraine Agreement on Cultural Heritage". clintonwhitehouse6.archives.gov. Retrieved April 8, 2026.
{{cite web}}: Check|archive-url=value (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Kulick, Orysia Maria (January 1, 2019). "Incorporation of the Ukrainian Museum-Archives into the US-Ukraine agreement on Cultural Preservation - Registry - Courage – Connecting collections". cultural-opposition.eu. Retrieved April 8, 2026.
External links
