The Ukrainian Museum at 50: Imagining the Future
The Ukrainian Museum is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2026–2027, marking the momentous milestone with a full slate of exhibitions, public programming, and institutional investment.
50th Anniversary Gala:
Culture Worth Fighting For
November 8, 2026
Liberty Warehouse, Brooklyn
This milestone presents a unique opportunity to honor our history while reimagining our role as a vital cultural resource for the Ukrainian diaspora globally, recent arrivals displaced by war, and the broader New York community — Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians alike.
The Museum’s location in the East Village is central to its mission. For over a century, this neighborhood has been a hub of Ukrainian cultural life, while also playing a pivotal role in New York’s broader artistic and intellectual history. The Museum sees itself as a bridge between these histories — rooted in a diasporic community yet deeply embedded in the civic and cultural fabric of New York City. A key institutional priority is strengthening ties with local organizations, universities, and neighbors to ensure that small museums and community-based cultural institutions continue to shape the character of the East Village as it evolves.
Milestone Exhibitions
The anniversary season will feature major exhibitions, including A Living Canvas: The Ukrainian Museum at 50, presenting reimagined permanent collection highlights through the formal threads connecting fine art and folk art; The Ground Shifts Beneath Our Feet, the first solo museum retrospective of works by Zhanna Kadyrova — the artist currently representing Ukraine at the 61st Venice Biennale; Pedagogies of War by Roman Khimei and Yarema Malashchuk; and The Juncture: Ukrainian Artists in Search of Modernity and Identity, an exhibition that reframes misattributed Ukrainian modern and contemporary artworks within major institutional collections. These exhibitions will be accompanied by expanded public programming designed to deepen connections with the surrounding neighborhoods.
Yarema Malashchuk and Roman Khimei
You Shouldn’t Have to See This, 2024
Six-channel video installation on LED-screens (color, silent)
7 min 30 sec (loop)
LED-screens variable size
Overall dimensions variable
Supported by the PinchukArtCentre and Save Ukraine Rescue Network
COM_2025.09
Yarema Malashchuk and Roman Khimei
We Didn’t Start this War, 2026
Three-channel video installation (color, sound)
Overall dimensions variable
Commissioned and produced by TBA21Thyssen-Bornemisza Art
Contemporary
Transformations
The Museum’s 50th anniversary calls not only for the transformation of its public spaces, but also for a reimagining of its engagement with the surrounding streetscape: Taras Shevchenko Place and Cooper Square.
New local initiatives will include participation in the Open Streets program, the transformation of the Museum’s lobby into a community gathering space, and the development of the Ukraine NOW pop-up gallery.
The Museum’s full slate of anniversary transformations, programs, and institutional investment initiatives will be announced in Fall 2026.
SAFE Grants Initiative
Launched in 2022 with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Booth Ferris Foundation, SAFE is a global initiative that supports museums and cultural workers in Ukraine through emergency assistance, institutional stabilization, legal advocacy, and the development of long-term strategies for safeguarding cultural heritage.
With support from the Leon Levy Foundation, in 2026 The Ukrainian Museum launched the SAFE grant initiative, offering critical infrastructural and curatorial support to at-risk cultural institutions in Ukraine. Former and current recipients include Kharkiv Historical Museum, Donetsk Regional Art Museum, Sloviansk Museum of Local History, Skovoroda National Literary and Memorial Museum, Okhtyrka City Museum, Kherson Contemporary Art Museum, Chernihiv Historical Museum, Zaporizhzhia Historical Museum, Mariupol Museum of Local Lore, Slobozhanske Cultural Center, National Art Museum of Ukraine, Kmytiv Fine Arts Museum, Cherkasy Art Museum, and Zdovbytsia Lyceum & Museum of Village History.