UKELODEON: For The Next Generation (01/13/02)

UKELODEON

For The Next Generation

Young artists from Kyiv depict attacks on World Trade Center

KYIV - In the blue collar Troyeschyna district of Kyiv, a group of young children gather each Saturday morning to experiment with new colors and traditional art forms as they pursue their dreams of becoming professional painters and graphic designers.

Their meeting space is the Troyeshky Children's Art Studio, a refurbished community center in a ramshackle concrete multistory building overlooking a small tributary of the Dnipro River.

Following the September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, many of the young Ukrainian artists began using their art work as a means to express their sympathy for their American counterparts who were orphaned or otherwise affected by the disaster.

Among the most poignant renditions was a pair of oil paintings by 8-year-old Vladyk Dolhopolov titled "The Weeping Towers" - one portraying the moment when the hijacked planes approached the World Trade Center and the other showing the burning towers shortly before their collapse.

Many of the young artists painted icons of the Mother of God as a Protectress watching over the world and the people of the United States.

The children were encouraged to give expression to their feelings by their headmaster, Volodymyr Titulenko, a nationally acclaimed painter who returned to Ukraine after taking part in last summer's Great Lakes Expedition of the Ukrainian tall ship "Batkivschyna."

Mr. Titulenko was granted a U.S. visa as an artist-in-residence aboard the schooner, documenting the ship's journey and painting various landscapes against the backdrop of the ship and the skylines of Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and other host cities.

Prior to his departure from the United States, Mr. Titulenko visited Liberty Park in Jersey City, N.J., which is located directly across from Lower Manhattan, and he could see the smoldering remains of the World Trade Center.

"When I told the students what I had seen and showed them photos of the site, it moved them deeply," said Mr. Titulenko. "They already felt a special kinship with America as they had followed the course of the sailing ship. Then there were the terrible events unfolding in September and they wanted children in America to know how much they worried about them and prayed for their safety. So I urged them to put their feelings into their art, and promised to do what I could to pass some of these works on to the United States."

The children took advantage of an early opportunity to present their work to representatives of the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund during their recent visit to Kyiv. Under the direction of Olenka Bodnarskyj-Gunn, the CCRF chapter in Buffalo is staging a joint project that will enable the United States and Ukrainian children to exchange their art work and to place it on exhibit in hospitals, orphanages and public galleries.

"The children at the Troyeshky studio feel an instinctive solidarity with the children of New York and the U.S. in the wake of the September 11 tragedy," said Alexander Kuzma, CCRF executive director. "The Troyeschyna district where they live was one of the areas of Kyiv that was most contaminated by Chornobyl, and they know what it's like to live in the shadow of an event that takes years to overcome."

"We want our friends in America to know that we are grateful for their help to Ukraine, and we are thinking about them this Christmas season," said 11-year-old Yana Bzenko.

In a joint letter to their friends in North America that accompanied their artwork, the Troyeshky students wrote, "We hope that our works will echo in your hearts. And in spite of the seas and oceans separating us, they will bind us together with a strong friendship."

Passaic's littlest Plast members help needy in Ukraine

PASSAIC, N.J. - "Novatstvo" and "ptashata" - the youngest members of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization - did a good deed for Christmas when they collected mittens, hats and gloves to adorn two Christmas trees that decorate the auditorium at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church. After the holidays these children of the Passaic Plast Branch will send the gifts along with holiday greetings to orphans in Ukraine.

Dear Readers of UKELODEON:

Next month marks the third anniversary of UKELODEON, a special section of The Ukrainian Weekly that was created in February 1999 to serve as a forum for young readers and by young readers, where anyone from kindergartners to teens, could come to learn, to share information, to relate their experiences, and to keep in touch with each other.

Though UKELODEON is prepared by the editorial staff of The Ukrainian Weekly working in conjunction with Lydia Smyk, an elementary school teacher at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic School in Newark, N.J., its main contributors are you, its readers.

Thus, we repeat the invitation to our next generation: Don't be bashful! Send in your stories and your observations, share your experiences with fellow readers. And if you have any questions about sending materials, call us at The Weekly, (973) 292-9800, ext. 3049.

Send in your articles, letters, photos, etc. to: The Ukrainian Weekly, UKELODEON, 2200 Route 10, P.O. Box 280, Parsippany, N.J., 07054. Or you can e-mail us: [email protected]. Our next issue will be dated February 10, so please send in materials by Feburary 1.

St. Nicholas students welcome metropolitan

PASSAIC, N.J. - Metropolitan-Archbishop Stefan Soroka visited St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic School on December 13, 2001. Above, the leader of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the United States blesses the bread and salt presented as a greeting by Tania Zurawski in accordance with Ukrainian tradition.

Kalyna dancers perform at Wisconsin fair

MILWAUKEE - The Kalyna Ukrainian Youth Dancers of Milwaukee, under the direction of Peter Jenkins, performed at the Wisconsin Holiday Folk Fair. Twelve children, ranging in age from 6 to 12, performed a lively dance. The three-day event, held November 16-18, 2001, at the Wisconsin State Fair Park, brings together the cultures from many ethnic groups. Among the features are an international bazaar, interactive exhibits, international kitchen and dance halls. The Holiday Folk Fair International is produced by the International Institute of Wisconsin, a not-for-profit social service organization dedicated to racial, cultural and ethnic understanding.

Mykola Myshka's new favorite stamp

Stamp collector Mykola Myshka is thrilled to have received a new stamp from Ukraine from his Uncle Ingert. He is particularly pleased as the stamp depicts a winter scene featuring characters from one of his favorite Ukrainian stories, "Rukavychka" - "The Mitten."

Mishanyna

To solve this month's Mishanyna, search for the words below - all of which are connected to a significant January date in Ukraine's history. Do you know what happened on this date?

army, autonomy, Battle of Kruty, Bolshevik, Central Rada, Council, fourth , freedom, Hrushevsky, independent, January, Kyiv, land, leader, nation, party, people, Petliura, revolution, Soviets, state, twenty second, universal, Vynnychenko.

Letter to UKELODEON

Dear UKELODEON:

In the Mishanyna for December you misspelled the word "holy." It appeared in the grid as "hloy."

Your friend,
Roma Mirutenko
Howthorn Woods, Ill.

Editor's note: Thank you very much, Roma, for pointing out our error. We'll try to do better!

CHECK IT OUT: On page 1 of this issue there's great news for fans of the young wizard Harry Potter. A renowned publisher in Ukraine has bought the rights to release "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," the first book of the best-selling series, in the Ukrainian language. What do you think: Will Harry Potter be called Hryts Honchar?

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