OTTAWA – The Ukrainian Canadian Congress on September 22 unveiled the official logo for the celebrations marking the 125th anniversary of Ukrainian immigration to Canada. The logo was designed by Ukrainian Canadian artist Oleh Lesiuk.
The artist explained that the logo consists of three parts. The bottom part symbolizes four waves of immigration to Canada. These are the waves of the ocean to be overcome, the waves of people that brought new hopes and dreams to a new land.
In the central part of the logo, people are transformed into three flying cranes. These powerful, intelligent and enduring birds, “zhuravli” in Ukrainian, appear often in Ukrainian music and folklore and are known in Canada as well. They are a long-standing symbol of migrating from one’s own nest to travel to far lands, possibly never to return again. The group of cranes symbolizes the family as the foundation of society. Once settled in a new land they strive to desired heights.
The national crest of Ukraine – the golden trident (tryzub) – superimposed on a blue crane, symbolizes the country of origin. The wings of the cranes ultimately transform into a maple leaf – the national symbol of Canada.
Mr. Lesiuk was born in 1959 in Lviv, and since 1992 has been living in Canada, where he works in studio (compositions and portraits) and on-site (monumental sculpture and murals).
He graduated with honors from the Lviv National Academy of Applied and Decorative Arts in 1981, and he began his work as an artist at the Sculpture Department of the Ivan Trush College of Applied Arts.
Mr. Lesiuk has participated in numerous group exhibits in Ukraine, Russia, Italy, the United States and Canada. He has had three solo exhibitions in Toronto, and has organized and participated in three symposiums in wood sculpture.
He has created several monuments, monumental signs, park sculptures and memorial plaques in Ukraine, the U.S., Canada, France and Great Britain. He has earned numerous awards and grants, among them a Monument Builders of North America Civic/Public Award (2006) for the monument in Rochester, N.Y., commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Ukrainian settlement.
Mr. Lesiuk is a member of the National Artists’ Union of Ukraine and the Sculptors’ Society of Canada; he is president of the Ukrainian Association of Visual Artists of Canada and vice-president of the Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation.
His artwork may be found in private and public collections in Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Italy and North America.