TORONTO – The Ukrainian Museum of Canada, Ontario Branch, is presenting a playful exhibit celebrating a unique part of Ukrainian Canadian subculture. Not all museum treasures come from the distant past. This year, the museum unpacked Mama’s and Baba’s boxes for a nostalgic look back at the 1960s and ’70s, when embroidery adorned everything from home décor and handbags to the ubiquitous A-line dress.
Museum visitors will be able to learn about Ukrainian Canadian lives in the ’60s and ’70s through a cross-generational understanding of life and culture of the Ukrainian Canadian diaspora. “Everything Old Is Cool Again” engages visitors to explore Canada’s Ukrainian heritage by presenting the stories and artifacts of those who lived in the community during this era. This lighthearted exhibit features a recreated Rec Room, clothing, accessories and household items, set to a backdrop of music from vinyl LPs.
The exhibit runs from September 20 to February 29, 2020, and is open to the public during regular museum hours: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Thursdays, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. (The museum is closed on Sundays and Mondays.)
The Ontario branch of the Ukrainian Museum of Canada was established in 1944, and moved to its current location, 620 Spadina Avenue in Toronto, within St. Vladimir Institute in 1979. The museum houses more than 5,000 artifacts –predominantly textiles – that have been collected, researched, documented, photographed and preserved to professional museum standards by its dedicated volunteers.