Making postcards with Cyanotypes & Ink: Sunprints with Nature with Tulika Ladsariya

Saturday, August 22
3-4 pm

Explore the art of cyanotype, an early photographic process that uses sunlight to create luminous blue-and-white images. Participants will make postcards, working with leaves, flowers, and other natural materials to create cyanotype prints, experimenting with composition, layering, and the transformation of natural forms through light.

Participants will also use inks to draw, layer, and respond to their cyanotype prints, creating images that combine the structure of plants with their own marks and ideas. Through observation and experimentation, the activity invites creatives of all ages to slow down, look closely at nature, and consider how artists can use natural materials and sunlight to connect with their environment. The completed cards can be used as postcards or artwork. 

No prior art experience is needed. All materials will be provided.

Tulika Ladsariya is currently featured in the Home Grown exhibition at UIMA.

Behind the Scene: Project Evergreen (film clips and panel discussion)

Project Evergreen, a collaborative film by husband-and-wife team Christine Forni (artist) and James Forni (director). The film tracks an artist's journey back to an area near her family's roots, a place where Evergreen Conservancy transforms a legacy of environmental extraction into filtering and healing the waterways. A conversation about sharing ecological stewardship and documenting the creative process.

Visible Mending 

Saturday, August 15
3-5 pm 

RSVP here

Learn how to darn, applique, reverse applique, and embroider to fix your clothes, including sewing buttons and fixing hems! Embroidery floss, buttons, fabrics, and all tools will be provided but bring any garments that need any repairs including rips, holes, frayed hems or seams, and stains! 

Workshop led by Emilka Wolniewicz

Rug Weaving 

Saturday, August 8 

3-5 pm 

RSVP here

Learn how to give a new life to old clothes or fabric scraps by transforming them into yarn to create a mini rag rug. Learn woven basics such as how to set up a frame loom and 3 weave structures: plain or tabby, basket, and twill! All tools will be provided. Some fabric scraps will be provided but I encourage you to bring your own, used textiles. 

Workshop led by Emilka Wolniewicz

Visible Mending 

Sunday, July 26 
3-5 pm 

Learn how to darn, applique, reverse applique, and embroider to fix your clothes, including sewing buttons and fixing hems! Embroidery floss, buttons, fabrics, and all tools will be provided but bring any garments that need any repairs including rips, holes, frayed hems or seams, and stains! 

Free workshop, RSVP to reserve your spot.

EVENT POSTPONED — Date & Time TBA

Join us for a Glass Painting Master Class

Grab a seat, pick up a brush, and create your own painted glass piece of art, all while supporting a great cause. This not-for-profit workshop is organized by UNWLA Branch 36 and led by artists Elena Pach and Elena Diadenko, with sweet treats provided by Magic Jug.

Every dollar raised goes directly to helping Ukrainian soldiers with combat gauze and hospital hygiene kits.

$60
To Register: Text 773-719-7403
Zelle or PayPal: ukrainianbranch36@gmail.com

Natural Dye & Earth Pigment Workshop
Maven Kennedy & SK Reed
RSVP: Space is limited and available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Reserve your spot now!

Join artists SK Reed and Maven Kennedy, currently featured in the Home Grown exhibition at UIMA, for an immersive, hands-on collaborative workshop. This unique session teaches participants how to forage, process, and create art using locally sourced natural materials.

Kennedy will demonstrate processing regional plants (marigolds), food waste (onion skins), and plant charcoal (ash), along with found objects (bricks/nails) to create distinct variations in local pigments. 

Reed will showcase how to process raw earth pigments and transform them into working watercolor paints.

The workshop will end in an activity! Guests are invited to use these pigments to create watercolor reflections on their relationships with their own local ecosystems. Images and still lives will be made available to guests to inspire their paintings. The artists hope participants will consider the collectivity of their environments. When sourcing their own pigments from their local ecosystems, both Kennedy and Reed feel a greater connection and grounding to place.

If you register in advance and later find that you will be unable to attend, please cancel your registration through Humanitix to open up a spot for another participant. 

Literary Event, Between Voice and Silence
In memory of Ukrainian poet Maksym Kryvtsov (1990 - 2024)

Address: Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art,

2320 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60622

International exhibition Between Voice and Silence, featuring works by Ira Bondarenko, Katya Lisova, and Matvii Vaisberg, culminates in a tribute to the fallen Ukrainian poet, volunteer, soldier, and Hero of Ukraine, Maksym Kryvtsov.

FREE ADMISSION

Program:

• Artist's remarks by Ira Bondarenko

• Reflections on Maksym's life and legacy by his sister, Anastasia Khudaverdyan, our honored guest

• Pre-recorded video messages from Ukrainian poets Svitlana Povalyaeva, Valeriy Puzik, and Yaryna Chornohuz

• Readings of Maksym's poetry in Ukrainian and English,

‍ ‍ Фонд імені
Максима
Кривова

‍ ‍TATI accompanied by music

A Special Guest Event: An Afternoon with Olia Hercules

The Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art is honored to welcome Olia Hercules, celebrated cookbook author, food writer, and passionate advocate for Ukrainian culinary heritage, for an intimate afternoon conversation and book presentation.

Hercules will speak about her new book, Strong Roots: A Ukrainian Family Story through War, Exile and Hope, a deeply personal work that traces her family's journey and the enduring power of food, memory, and identity across generations of hardship and resilience.

This is a rare opportunity to meet one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Ukrainian culture. Join us for a conversation that is as much about history and hope as it is about cooking.

A Q&A will follow the discussion.

Free and open to the public.

Order a copy of Strong Roots here.

Olia Hercules is visiting the city of Chicago as an esteemed nominee for the James Beard Award Ceremony on Saturday, June 13, and the official nominees' ceremony on Sunday morning, June 14. Take advantage of her Chicago appearance by joining us for this exclusive afternoon gathering.

Strong Roots is the story of a century in Ukraine told through four generations of one extraordinary family. It takes us from years of Russification, to Olia's grandmother's deportation to snowy wastelands under Stalin, to her Aunt Zhenia's school protest, to her own parents' flight from Ukraine when their town was occupied in 2022.

This is an ode to the land, to ideas of home and belonging, and to family stories and recipes passed down the generations – the tang of sour cherries, the best way to make borsch. It is an account of resilience in the hardest of circumstances.

Strong Roots brims with hope and grief. It lays bare the compromises and betrayals of generations struggling and surviving through war, peace, invasion and exile. It is an uplifting reminder of how much the human spirit can endure when born from a land rich with strong roots.

Praise

'An instant classic' NIGELLA LAWSON

'Sweeping, intimate, defiant and brimming with love' LOUISE KENNEDY

'It is the roots that keep the trees from falling during a storm. Olia Hercules tells us that the same is true for people and nations' SERHII PLOKHY

About the author

Olia Hercules was born in the south of Ukraine in 1984. She left her home town Kakhovka at the age of twelve, when she moved to Cyprus.

After finishing school, she moved to the UK where she studied Italian language and International Relations at the University of Warwick. After spending a year in Italy, Olia settled in London, pursuing a journalistic career after completing her Master’s degree.

Following the financial crisis of 2008, Olia decided to quit her job as a film business reporter to pursue her dream to cook for a living.

She trained at the renowned Leiths School of Food and Wine and then worked as a chef de partie in restaurants, including Ottolenghi, and as a recipe developer before landing a book deal for Mamushka, a cookbook that celebrates her family recipes, from Ukraine and Moldova to Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. Mamushka has won the prestigious Fortnum and Mason Award for best debut cookbook 2016.

Olia was named the Observer Rising Star of 2015.

Her second cookbook is called Kaukasis: a culinary journey through Georgia, Azerbaijan and beyond. It is published on August 10th in the UK and Australia and in October 2017 in the US, Canada, Germany and Poland.

Join us for the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art’s 55th Anniversary Concert
Saturday, June 6 at 5 pm

$25 Entry

Performances by
Halyna Heryavenko
Julia Perekhozhuk
Nazari Mykhalienko
Vadim Dubovsky
Myroslav Mykhailenko


All proceeds will aid in supporting the institute.

Ladies Who Lit and The Art Idiot are excited to present a screening of the award-winning film Almost Famous (2000), directed by Cameron Crowe and starring Kate Hudson as Penny Lane, leader of the Band Aids, Stillwater's muse and manager, and a style icon both on and off the silver screen.

This screening is presented in partnership with the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art on the occasion of their current exhibition, L.A. Woman, a memorial which surveys the extraordinary life and multifaceted career of model, actress, artist, curator, and documentary filmmaker Irene Antonovych.

Get tickets here.

L.A. Woman, A Memorial Exhibit

Closing Celebration Featuring Cello Performance by William Jason Raynovich

William Jason Raynovich, composer, cellist, and experimental sound artist, presents a curated musical program for the closing reception honoring Orysia Antonovych on May 3, 2026 at 1:00pm. Over the years, Raynovich came to know Orysia, whom many also knew as Irene, through her consistent and generous presence at performances at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art. He recalls not only her support of the arts, but the warmth, elegance, and attentiveness she brought to every encounter. Among these memories are the many conversations they shared, her thoughtful artistic gestures, including a drawing she made of him, and photographs marking moments of connection. Her presence left a lasting impression: one defined by curiosity, kindness, and a deep commitment to artistic life. Honestly, I think of Orysia as one of the most elegantly, serene person I have ever had the honor to spend time with.

This performance is offered in memory and in gratitude. At its center are two works for solo acoustic cello: “28.VII.1750… in memoriam J.S.B.” by Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov and “Passacaglia Ucraina” by Roman Turovsky. Silvestrov’s work carries a reflective and spiritual quality, one that resonates with a sense of inwardness and quiet remembrance. Turovsky’s piece, shaped by his dual identity as both visual artist and composer, reflects an interdisciplinary sensibility that parallels Orysia’s own wide-ranging engagement with artistic forms. Although it is not known whether she encountered Turovsky’s work directly, his artistic path suggests a kinship of approach.  One in which creative expression moves fluidly across mediums.

In addition to these works, Raynovich incorporates selections from an evolving performance practice he has developed over the past three years and presented in various forms across multiple venues. This material includes compositions by Alvin Lucier, Pamela Z, Eve Beglarian, Colin Kemper, as well as his own works. These pieces, while diverse in language and approach, are brought together through a shared attentiveness to sound, space, and perception.

The featured piece on the program will be Raynovich’s “now for electric cello and electronics.” This piece is a culmination of year’s of work. This work is intended for now and each performance is a relatively unique experience.

The program is presented as a continuous, unbroken set, allowing the boundaries between works to dissolve into a larger sonic environment. Acoustic cello repertoire and experimental practices coexist within this structure, forming a unified arc rather than a sequence of discrete pieces. Audience members are invited to move freely throughout the space during the performance, engaging not only with the music but also with the surrounding exhibition. In this way, the performance does not stand apart from Orysia’s creative life, but exists within it, offering one final gesture of connection, memory, and reflection.

Between Voice and Silence
In memory of Ukrainian poet Maksym Kryvtsov

The exhibition ‘Between Voice and Silence' explores the role of empathy and humanity in times of crisis. Through their works,  Ukrainian and American artists Katya Lisova (textiles),  Matvii Vaisberg (prints), and Ira Bondarenko (ceramics) reflect on the limits and power of human agency in the face of overwhelming force. The value of humanity lies in its capacity to transcend adversity by embracing compassion and keeping empathy and human connection alive in the most oppressive darkness. The project examines this concept through the lens of works of  Ukrainian artists and poets and emphasizes the role of ordinary people in building resilience and saving the state. The exhibition honors the poetry and life of Ukrainian fallen soldier Maksym Kryvtsov and, by drawing its title from one of his poems, “ In that space between Voice and Silence,” invites the audience to relate to this “in-between” moment where the power of the human heart reigns.

Opening Reception
Friday, May 1, 6-9 pm

Ladies Who Lit Book Club: I Who Have Never Known Men March 26 & 28

Ladies Who Lit, a Chicago-based book club and literary community, is hosting two member discussion events at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in conjunction with our current exhibition, It Will Destroy You.

Their March pick, I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman, is a haunting speculative novel that pairs beautifully with the themes at the heart of the exhibition. Curated by Isaiah Lee and Samiah Fulcher, It Will Destroy Youbrings together painting, sculpture, installation, and video to explore self-preservation and reconciliation amid what the curators describe as a "crumbling socio-political landscape built on violence, greed, corruption, and brutality." Harpman's novel, a story of survival, memory, and the collapse of the world as we know it, makes for a resonant companion to this work.

Discussions will be held on March 26 and March 28. With two date options available this month, drop-ins are welcome! Tickets are available to both Ladies Who Lit members and the general public. Visit ladieswholit.com to RSVP here or purchase a ticket.

March 26, 6 - 8 pm 
March 28, 10 am - 12 pm

Маємо честь вітати у Чикаго Людину-легенду Миколу Горбаля, поета, дисидента, колишнього політв'язня, члена правозахисної Української Гельсінської групи. У неділю, 15 березня у Чикаго Микола Горбаль виступатиме у Чикаго в Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art

L.A. Woman
Irene Antonovych
East Gallery of UIMA

The Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art proudly presents L.A. Woman, a memorial exhibition surveying the life’s work of model, actress, artist, curator, and documentary filmmaker, Irene Antonovych.

On show are works from all periods of her life:  competition winning paintings she made as a teenager, student works from Canada and Los Angeles, modeling photographs, memorabilia from her tenure as cultural coordinator at Loyola Marymount University, award winning documentaries on American Art produced for Handel Film Corporation, and “Generations: A Documentary of Ukrainians in Chicago”.  Perhaps most poignant are the final paintings, made during her five-year contention with Alzheimer’s.

The exhibit also highlights her personal collection, which includes works by her private instructor, Ukrainian Canadian portraitist Julian Butsmaniuk; her theatre design mentor, Greek luminary Peter Vakalo; California artists Nick Brigante, Peter Max, Morgan Russell, Sister Corita, and Volodymyr Ballas; and Mexican master printmaker Ruffino Tamayo.

It Will Destroy You Gallery Talk
Featured Artists: Deb Sokolow, Robert Burnier, and Van Payne
Moderated by curators Samiah Fulcher and Isaiah Lee

 It Will Destroy You, a powerful group exhibition curated by Samiah Fulcher and Isaiah Lee, brings together works by 23 contemporary artists who interrogate the deconstruction of systems and structures that have long governed our lives.

Moderated Discussion — 6:30 - 7:30 PM

Q&A — 7:30 - 8:00 PM

The Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art is pleased to present It Will Destroy You,
a powerful group exhibition curated by Isaiah Lee and Samiah Fulcher

Opening Reception
Friday, February 13, 6 -9 pm

It Will Destroy You brings together works by contemporary artists who interrogate the deconstruction of systems and structures that have long governed our lives. Through painting, sculpture, installation, and video, the exhibition reflects on themes of self-preservation and reconciliation as we navigate what the curators describe as a "crumbling socio-political landscape built on violence, greed, corruption, and brutality."

The exhibition features work by Michelle Alexander, Lauren Bertelson, Matias Brimmer, Robert Burnier,  Alison Campbell, Zach Dobbins, Rea-Silvia Emmanouil, Sophia Farmer, Figwürm, Shanti Grandhi, Chloe Harthan, Sascha Huth, Melanie L. Johnson, Diada Amiri Jones, Rohen Jones, César López, Colin Martinez, Van Payne, Dylan Rabe, Austin Reilly, James Ross Servantz, Ethan Shay-Cowell, Deb Sokolow

Open Format Improvisational Jam
Jam Session at UIMA - CANCELED

Ellen Lustig: Transformations
Artist Talk

Join us at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art for an Artist Talk by exhibiting artist Ellen Lustig

The exhibition showcases Lustig's multifaceted creative force spanning from childhood to the present day. The showcase includes drawing, painting, sculpture, and more. Highlights include her Surreal Tree Paintings, oil works revealing anthropomorphic qualities in nature; Abstract Illusion Paintings, spontaneous landscapes evoking music and motion; and Zofscape, a multimedia installation combining LED light sculptures, animated video, and original music composition.

Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art is proud to always support young talents. This Saturday, January 10, 2026 at 6 in the evening,  UIMA will feature two bright and extremely gifted musicians - Julia Perekhozhuk (violin) and Miroslav Mykhailenko (piano). Julia and Myroslav share the magic of Ukrainian music, transmitting her soul, beauty and deep emotionality. Their performance is a sign of hope and a living continuation of the musical tradition, which we gratefully preserve and pass on to the next generation, revealing to foreigners the richness and uniqueness of Ukrainian culture - without culture there is no people.

There is a $20 entrance fee for the fundraiser. All the proceeds from the concert will be transferred to the orphanage in Zinkiv, in Poltava region.

After Line, Before Form Exhibition Tour at UIMA
Tuesday, December 9, 1:40 - 2:40 pm 
The event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP

After Line, Before Form explores the moment when a point becomes a line, and a line transforms into a shape, tracing the liminal spaces between them and the threshold where line gives rise to form—where movement and perception bring form into being. Featuring works by artists from Ukraine, the Ukrainian diaspora, and other international contexts, the exhibition considers geometry as both a physical structure and an imaginative order. Across painting, print, and sculpture, the exhibition reflects on how line and form engage one another to create depth, rhythm and meaning—revealing abstraction as an intuitive dialogue between imagination and reality. Each artist interprets line and form in distinct ways, inviting viewers to encounter the varied possibilities of the liminal space and the shifting boundaries that separate—and connect—line and shape.

After Line, Before Form is curated by Students from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Curatorial Practicum Class.

The course is led by UIMA’s Curator, Adrienne Kochman, PhD, Lecturer in the Department of Art History, Theory & Criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Scenes of the Neighborhood
An Art Walk Through Ukrainian Village
Tuesday, December 9, 12:20-1:30 

Visitors will participate in a curator-led art walk in the unique and historic Chicago neighborhood of Ukrainian Village. Taking inspiration from the sights around them, participants are invited to photograph, draw, or write about their surroundings. Note, participants will need their own camera, phone, sketchbook, etc. Based on their experiences in the exhibition, viewers are encouraged to think about the mundane and banal, what catches their attention that they might have overlooked before. Subjects can range from buildings, to infrastructure, to plants, and anything else seen on the street. At the end of the walk, participants will be invited to speak about their experience and share their photographs or drawings with other participants and the curators. What did they notice? What caught their attention? How did they bring the unseen to light? After the discussion, visitors are invited to re-explore the exhibition with fresh eyes.

Agenda:
Exhibition viewing: 12:15 - 12:30 pm
Explanation of the program: 12:30 - 1:00 pm
Curator-led art walk around the neighborhood: 1:00 pm - 1:20 pm
Discussion and collection of works created on the walk, End 1:30
UIMA Art Walk Sign-up

Goal/Outcome:
After discussion and reception of the works created on the neighborhood walk, the curators of the exhibition will compile the photographs, writings, and drawings into a mini exhibition to be shared online or social media.

Sights, Seen, and Never Seen explores the imagery found in the urban environment and the representation of urban life that are often ignored or hidden. Among the rush hours and countless telephone poles, we aim to magnify the mundane, to look at the bigger picture, not for what it is, but for what makes it. Bringing to the forefront things forgotten, we pull together the edges of the urban landscape into curious treasures that deserve a closer look beyond the periphery. Motivated by the endurance of Ukrainian artists during times of upheaval, these artists have remained deeply rooted in the material and the everyday, transforming the debris of history into objects of memory and resilience—reminding us that even in moments of erasure, creation persists. Artists featured within this exhibition come from a variety of disciplines and cultures, but a commonality can be found in any community's reliance on the simplicity of daily life. Sights, Scenes, and Never Seen pushes the mundane forward, taking another look at sites often passed by.

Curated by Students from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Curatorial Practicum Class.

The course is led by UIMA’s Curator, Adrienne Kochman, PhD, Lecturer in the Department of Art History, Theory & Criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Porcelain War

Under the thunder of fighter jets, Ukrainian artists Slava, Anya, and Andrey refuse to flee. In the face of devastation, they transform shattered landscapes into art — proving that while fear is easy to create, the human spirit is not so easily broken.
A breathtaking story of courage, creativity, and love for Ukraine.

UIMA is one of the  co-presenting partners along with Razom, Polsky Foundation, Chicago Grand Gallery, and Kartemquin Films, for this film event  which will be screened on Monday, December 8, 7pm at the Chopin Theatre (1523 W. Division St) for the POV film Porcelain War.

Tickets and RSVP page link for the Porcelain War here.

You are cordially invited to the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art’s Members Appreciation Party on December 6, 2025!
Join us for a warm and joyful evening filled with conversation, laughter, and inspiration — a wonderful opportunity to meet new people, reconnect with old friends, and celebrate the vibrant community that makes UIMAso special. This evening, we want to celebrate you and express our heartfelt gratitude for your continued support.

Free admission, RSVP in advance

The Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art is pleased to announce the upcoming, very unique solo exhibition of Chicago-based multimedia artist Ellen Lustig, opening Saturday, November 22, 2025, with a reception from 12–4 pm. 

The exhibition showcases Lustig's multifaceted creative force spanning from childhood to the present day. The showcase includes drawing, painting, sculpture, and more. Highlights include her Surreal Tree Paintings, oil works revealing anthropomorphic qualities in nature; Abstract Illusion Paintings, spontaneous landscapes evoking music and motion; and Zofscape, a multimedia installation combining LED light sculptures, animated video, and original music composition.

A graduate of California College of the Arts in Oakland, Lustig has built a remarkable
career as a caricature artist, ceramic sculptor, mural painter, and puppet maker. Her work
reflects the influence of Bay Area underground comics culture and the Chicago Imagist
movement, blending whimsy with deeper commentary on contemporary life. Her
signature Pop Surrealism style transforms ordinary subjects into
dreamlike scenarios that are simultaneously playful and profound.

The exhibition runs through Sunday, February 1, 2026, with an artist talk, workshop, and musical event planned during the show run.  Artist Talk scheduled for Saturday, January 17, 2026, from 1–2 pm, additional dates and details to follow.

Music is a vessel for Ukraine’s spirit and hope for freedom. Choir Glorius cordially invites you to “Ukrainian Soul in Song” concert conducted by Bohdana Chepil

November 14, 7:30 pm at Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Tickets $20