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The Ukrainian Museum Archives was founded in 1952 as a non-profit
institution with a mission to collect and preserve artifacts of
importance to Ukrainian history and culture. This was an
era when these types of items were being deliberately destroyed
in Soviet Ukraine. Over the decades, the UMA has acquired
an impressive collection of rare and valuable material. Located
in Cleveland’s historic Tremont neighborhood, the UMA is
now building on the foundation established by the founders of the
institution to make the wealth of archival and artistic materials
available to a broad sector of scholars and the general public.
General Collection
It is difficult to quantify the diversity of artifacts that are
found in the UMA’s general collection. These holdings
include, but are not limited to, the following: postage stamps
and currency, commemorative buttons and pins, programs and fliers,
posters from the early-20th c. to the present day, sheet music – including
first editions of Mykola Lysenko’s compositions, historic
passports and other documents, letters and manuscripts, photographs,
sound recordings, and more than 300 videotapes in what is a complete
collection of the US Information Agency’s “Window on
America” television program that is beamed by satellite into
Ukraine.
Books & Periodicals
Perhaps the most valuable section of the UMA is our book and periodical
collection on every imaginable topic form Ukraine’s pre-history
to last week’s headlines. Our library of more than
20,000 volumes includes rare books from the 19th and early 20th
centuries. The collection includes: books from the early-
and mid-19th century period of modern Ukrainian literature, books
from the early-20th c. revolutionary period in Ukraine, books and
periodicals from the post-World War II Displaced Persons camps,
historic publications from Ukraine representing the period between
the World Wars, and publications printed by the Ukrainian Diaspora
from all corners of the globe, including cities such as Prague,
Istanbul, Shanghai, Vienna, Paris, Winnipeg, Berlin, Budapest,
and Buenos Aires.
Shevchenko Collection
There are many diverse artifacts found in the UMA collection that
relate to the life and work of Ukraine’s national poet, Taras
Shevchenko.
The Museum’s holdings include thousands of books, periodicals,
posters, pins, buttons, portraits, postage stamps, banners, fliers,
programs, artwork and other memorabilia commemorating the life
of this genius. The size and scope of this collection makes
it one of the richest of its kind in North America.
Among the rarities are miniature Kobzars published in Geneva in
the 1870s-1880s to be smuggled into Ukraine during the era when
the literary work of Shevchenko had been banned in the Russian
Empire. A dramatic bust of Shevchenko by Alexander Archipenko
graces the entrance of the UMA’s newly built library and
archival storage facility. An original copy of Osnova from
March 1861 describes Shevchenko’s last days and funeral. The
UMA collection of Shevchenkiana includes many surprises documenting
the intense life of this poetic genius and illustrates the unique
place he holds in Ukrainian culture.
Ukrainian Art
The UMA also features an impressive and eclectic collection of
Ukrainian art, including, but not limited to, the following: Easter
eggs-“pysanky”, embroidery, woven textiles,
traditional apparel (folk costume) and related accessories, woodcarving,
and ceramics, as well as works of fine art by world-renowned Ukrainian
artists such as Alexander Archipenko, the Krychevsky Family, Lydia
Bodnar-Balahutrak, and Jacques Hnizdovsky, Mykhailo Chereshnovsky
to name a few. |
