Current Exhibitions

Looking back on the evolution of the Ukrainian feminist tradition, this exhibition honors the 100th anniversary of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America (UNWLA) and the contributions of its members in the global arena of diplomacy. The title refers to Pershyi Vinok (First Wreath), the landmark 1887 feminist almanac uniting women from Ukrainian communities under Habsburg and Czarist rule. “The Duties of Ukrainian Women Beyond the Ocean” were then articulated in a speech written by UNWLA president Olena Lototsky for the 1934 International Congress of Ukrainian Women in Stanyslaviv.

Since 1925, the UNWLA has navigated waves of migration and historic disruptions, proving, in Dr. Martha Kichorowska Kebalo’s words, how “feminist sensibility can coexist with long-distance nationalism.” Many artists featured in the exhibition were published in the UNWLA’s Our Life magazine, while other artifacts come from the UNWLA’s 1930s collection that became the foundation for The Ukrainian Museum. Artworks by Halyna Mazepa and Lydia Bodnar-Balahutrak recall early humanitarian campaigns, including relief for Carpathian flood victims in 1927. Still lifes by Iryna Homotiuk-Zielyk and Chrystya Olenska evoke decades of UNWLA members’ Holodomor awareness work. Paintings by Olena Kulchytska, Alla Johansen, Sophie Zarycka, and Arcadia Olenska-Petryshyn are presented alongside archival correspondence with female dissidents and wives of political prisoners in Ukraine during the Soviet period, reflecting on the UNWLA’s efforts to build a transnational activist community. Historic documents recall the UNWLA’s representation at the United Nations Decade of Women’s World Conferences in Mexico City (1975) and Copenhagen (1980), where its members demonstrated, distributed information, and conducted panels in defense of women prisoners of conscience.

Artists Alina Tenser and Sasha Topolnytska represent the generation that arrived in the U.S. in the 1990s, when the UNWLA advised global aid agencies on post-Chornobyl Ukraine. Their work appears alongside Yaroslava Surmach-Mills’ illustrated children’s book, connected to the UNWLA’s involvement with the International Movement of Mothers and the organization’s advocacy for vulnerable children under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). Following their Children of Chornobyl advocacy work in the 1990s, the UNWLA’s campaigns have focused on the return of Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia since its full-scale invasion in 2022.

13 September 2025 – 18 January 2026

The Ukrainian Museum will proudly host the first major museum exhibition of Boris Mikhailov’s photography in New York. Revered as the most celebrated living Ukrainian artist, Mikhailov’s work invites viewers into the complex tapestry of post-Soviet life, confronting the juxtaposition of vulnerability and resilience. Among the exhibited masterpieces are selections from the acclaimed “Yesterday’s Sandwich” and “Parliament” series. “Yesterday’s Sandwich” poignantly captures the remnants of daily existence in a rapidly changing society, presenting intimate glimpses into the lives of those often overlooked. Each photograph serves as a silent testament to the struggles and aspirations of ordinary individuals, imbuing the mundane with profound significance. Conversely, the “Parliament” series offers a bold critique of power and its discontents. Mikhailov’s lens navigates the corridors of politics, revealing the stark realities of governance amid the aspirations of a hopeful nation. The images challenge viewers to engage critically with the political landscape while empathizing with the human stories intertwined within it.

Visitors will appreciate Mikhailov’s daring exploration of identity, politics, and the enduring spirit of the Ukrainian people. This exhibition stands as a powerful reminder of art’s capacity to illuminate the complexities of contemporary life.

April 2

Traditional Ukrainian folk life was filled with rituals considered necessary for everyone’s well-being. An important aspect of these rituals was the creation of items embodying talismanic and protective powers. Among such articles – created by hand under propitious, ritualistic conditions – the pysanka (Easter egg) and the rushnyk (ritual cloth) are of greatest importance; to this day, they continue to play a significant role in Ukrainian mores.

Foremost among the many symbolic meanings and ritualistic uses of these items is the concept of the mystery of life – its creation, resurrection, and continuity. The pysanka traditionally is made at the time when nature is about to be reborn or resurrected – in the spring. Creating a pysanka in springtime means acting in concert with nature, working in harmony with it, and thus aiding and strengthening it in its attempt to resurrect life. In Ukrainian tradition, being in tune with nature, through the enactment of various rituals, has always been considered essential for the well-being of the humanity.

A rushnyk traditionally is made every time a child is born; additional rushnyky are created for each auspicious occasion as the child matures and goes through life’s various rites of passage. The intricate designs incorporated into the rushnyk by the mother for her child, or by the young girl for her beloved, for her future home, or for herself, are the magical, potent symbols of life and wishes for a productive future, good fortune, and happiness. In Ukrainian tradition, to be without one’s ritual cloth is to be without one’s shadow, without protection, without guidance, without the memory of one’s past, or without visions and aspirations for one’s future.