The Ukrainian Museum to mark 20th anniversary with luncheon (10/06/96)

The Ukrainian Museum to mark 20th anniversary with luncheon

NEW YORK - The Ukrainian Museum will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a gala luncheon, to be held on Sunday, October 20, at the Westbury Hotel in New York City.

To mark this auspicious occasion, the museum had invited William Green Miller, ambassador of the United States to Ukraine, who graciously accepted the invitation to attend as guest speaker. However, on September 25, Ambassador Miller sent a fax to the museum informing Director Maria Shust that, due to a conference of the U.S.-Ukraine (Gore-Kuchma) Binational Commission scheduled to take place in Kyiv on October 14-20, it will be impossible for him to "leave Kyiv in time" to be present at the event.

In his communiqué, Ambassador Miller said: "I regret very much that I will not be able to be with you at your meeting. I very much wanted to be present. I hope there will be another occasion in the near future when it would be possible to join with the members of The Ukrainian Museum."

Representing Ambassador Miller at the museum's celebration will be Victor Kytasty, director of America House, who will speak at the event on behalf of the American Embassy in Kyiv. Dr. Kytasty has headed America House, an agency of the United States Information Service, since 1992.

Dr. Olenka Pevny, art historian and researcher of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, will also speak at the luncheon. Addressing the audience as well will be Ivan Luchechko, president of the museum's board of trustees.

Orest Bilous, general manager, Memory Product Group at IBM Corp., has consented to be the master of ceremonies during the event, which will also feature a musical presentation with the participation of composer/pianist Myroslav Skoryk, pianist Volodymyr Vynnytsky and mezzo-soprano Marianna Vynnytsky.

This anniversary of The Ukrainian Museum is an important milestone in the history of achievements of the Ukrainian community in the United States. The museum was founded in 1976 by the Ukrainian National Women's League of America, the largest Ukrainian women's organization in the United States.

The purpose and goal of the institution was clearly defined from the very beginning: to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret objects of artistic and historic significance relating to Ukrainian life and culture. In the last two decades, the museum has provided consistently high-quality programming - exhibitions, educational programs, publications, cultural events - to the general public.

The Ukrainian Museum's collections have always reflected its purpose. The institution collects in three major areas: folk art, fine arts and archives, which include photographs, printed documents, private correspondence, posters, playbills, flyers, a philatelic collection and numismatics.

In the folk art category, the museum has one of the largest and most important documented collections in the United States. Noted Ukrainian artists, mainly from the 20th century, who have worked in Ukraine, Europe and the United States are represented in the fine arts collection. The material in the archives documents the life, history and cultural development of Ukrainians in Ukraine, and that of the Ukrainian immigration in the United States in the last 100 years.

Reservations for the anniversary luncheon must be made through the museum by October 10. Donation is $100 per person. Contact: The Ukrainian Museum, 203 Second Ave., New York, NY 10003; (212) 228-0110; fax, telephone, (212) 228-1947.