logo
‘She's all of us': mural illustrates ties between city, grateful Ukrainian newcomers

‘She's all of us': mural illustrates ties between city, grateful Ukrainian newcomers

Blue and yellow ribbons wrapping around the city's skyline show the deep connection between Ukraine and Manitoba in a new mural.
Take Pride Winnipeg, a downtown non-profit that seeks to clean up and inspire civic pride, unveiled its newest mural, titled 'Pray for Ukraine' in the Exchange District on Monday.
It pictures a Ukrainian woman in traditional clothing stoically gazing into the distance as butterflies and a dove — which symbolize hope, peace and rebirth — flutter around the Esplanade Riel and Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
The installation at Exchange District BIZ at 492 Main St. was painted by Jennifer Mosienko, who's worked on more than 40 murals across the city.
Mila Shykota, a 46-year-old Ukrainian newcomer and the brainchild behind the project, wanted to repay the generosity Winnipeggers have showed her and others with an art piece that intertwined the two cultures with the colours of Ukraine and Canada.
'I wanted to convey the longing for the motherland, that feeling when you're physically here but still worry about your home country,' said Shykota. 'This mural reflects the difficulties and hopes of all immigrants, and at the same, thanks Canada for the feeling of support.'
More than 20,000 Ukrainians have made Manitoba home since the war began in 2022, federal numbers show.
Shykota was living in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital city, and moved with her husband and daughter to Winnipeg after Russian forces invaded. She had visited Winnipeg multiple times in 2015, when her husband was studying at the University of Manitoba.
She sees herself in the woman portrayed in the mural and believes it represents all Ukrainians who fled the war.
'She's all of us,' said Shykota. 'We all the feel the same way. We had to start our news lives from scratch.'
Wednesdays
Sent weekly from the heart of Turtle Island, an exploration of Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences.
Shykota, who has lived in Winnipeg for three years, began fundraising for the 20 x 30 mural after deciding it was the best way to show appreciation to her new city. The campaign raised $25,000 and she brought the idea to Take Pride Winnipeg, who connected her with Mosienko.
The two worked together on the project for a year, refining the idea before Mosienko began the brush strokes. Painting it took nearly three months.
The artist said it was an emotional experience for her because her husband and relatives are Ukrainian, and she grew up eating Ukrainian dishes and celebrating Ukrainian traditions.
'I hope it will mean a lot to the Ukrainian people that live here and the ones that are newcomers as well, that they can look at it and say 'we have a place here, too,'' Mosienko said.
matthew.frank@freepress.mb.ca

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

‘She's all of us': mural illustrates ties between city, grateful Ukrainian newcomers
‘She's all of us': mural illustrates ties between city, grateful Ukrainian newcomers

Winnipeg Free Press

time8 hours ago

  • Winnipeg Free Press

‘She's all of us': mural illustrates ties between city, grateful Ukrainian newcomers

Blue and yellow ribbons wrapping around the city's skyline show the deep connection between Ukraine and Manitoba in a new mural. Take Pride Winnipeg, a downtown non-profit that seeks to clean up and inspire civic pride, unveiled its newest mural, titled 'Pray for Ukraine' in the Exchange District on Monday. It pictures a Ukrainian woman in traditional clothing stoically gazing into the distance as butterflies and a dove — which symbolize hope, peace and rebirth — flutter around the Esplanade Riel and Canadian Museum for Human Rights. The installation at Exchange District BIZ at 492 Main St. was painted by Jennifer Mosienko, who's worked on more than 40 murals across the city. Mila Shykota, a 46-year-old Ukrainian newcomer and the brainchild behind the project, wanted to repay the generosity Winnipeggers have showed her and others with an art piece that intertwined the two cultures with the colours of Ukraine and Canada. 'I wanted to convey the longing for the motherland, that feeling when you're physically here but still worry about your home country,' said Shykota. 'This mural reflects the difficulties and hopes of all immigrants, and at the same, thanks Canada for the feeling of support.' More than 20,000 Ukrainians have made Manitoba home since the war began in 2022, federal numbers show. Shykota was living in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital city, and moved with her husband and daughter to Winnipeg after Russian forces invaded. She had visited Winnipeg multiple times in 2015, when her husband was studying at the University of Manitoba. She sees herself in the woman portrayed in the mural and believes it represents all Ukrainians who fled the war. 'She's all of us,' said Shykota. 'We all the feel the same way. We had to start our news lives from scratch.' Wednesdays Sent weekly from the heart of Turtle Island, an exploration of Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences. Shykota, who has lived in Winnipeg for three years, began fundraising for the 20 x 30 mural after deciding it was the best way to show appreciation to her new city. The campaign raised $25,000 and she brought the idea to Take Pride Winnipeg, who connected her with Mosienko. The two worked together on the project for a year, refining the idea before Mosienko began the brush strokes. Painting it took nearly three months. The artist said it was an emotional experience for her because her husband and relatives are Ukrainian, and she grew up eating Ukrainian dishes and celebrating Ukrainian traditions. 'I hope it will mean a lot to the Ukrainian people that live here and the ones that are newcomers as well, that they can look at it and say 'we have a place here, too,'' Mosienko said.

Church's Rooster Town tour seeks to make amends
Church's Rooster Town tour seeks to make amends

Winnipeg Free Press

time20 hours ago

  • Winnipeg Free Press

Church's Rooster Town tour seeks to make amends

In 1930, when Harrow United Church was built at the corner of Mulvey Ave. and Harrow St., on what was then the southwest fringe of the city of Winnipeg, its neighbours included people who lived in Rooster Town. That community, made up of mostly Métis residents, was founded in 1901 and lasted until the late 1950s when residents were pressured to leave so the growing city could sell lots for new houses. Today, the church is honouring Rooster Town and recalling the injustice of the past through a self-guided walking tour of the former community. JOHN LONGHURST / FREE PRESS Rooster Town tour committee members Susan Ketchen (from left), Virginia Platt, Rae Leaden, Teresa Moysey, Jacquie Corrigan and Marc Whitehead at Harrow United Church. The 5-km tour, which takes about 75 minutes, is happening from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the church at 955 Mulvey Ave. The event will also feature a celebration of Métis and Indigenous heritage in the neighbourhood. The church's interest in Rooster Town goes back to the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, said Harrow's former minister, Teresa Moysey. 'It became part of our fabric here,' she said of how the church sought to incorporate the findings of the commission into its congregational life. The discovery of potential unmarked graves of children at former residential schools in Canada prompted the congregation to want to do more, as did the publication of the book Rooster Town: The History of an Urban Métis Community, 1901–1961 by Evelyn Peters. Recognizing the church's historical connection, the congregation wanted to memorialize Rooster Town, known to its residents as Pakan, the Michif word for the hazelnut bushes in the area. They also wanted to counter the negative stereotypes about Rooster Town that might still linger from newspaper reports at that time that characterized residents as poor, filthy and disease-ridden people. 'It was a healthy community,' Virginia Platt said of Rooster Town, which once had about 250 residents in 59 residences. Men in Rooster Town mostly worked as labourers, and the women as domestics, she said, adding they paid taxes even though they didn't have access to services such as water, sewer and electricity. 'They were hardworking, doing the best they could to look out for their families,' Platt said. 'They were very resilient.' The tour is an effort to make amends, Platt said, adding she would like to see the City of Winnipeg formally apologize for how the residents of Rooster Town were maligned and mistreated. During the tour, participants can see some original Rooster Town houses that still exist, along with sites of historical significance to the community, such as Rockwood school and the locations of a former greenhouse, stable and dairy where Rooster Town residents worked. 'We hope it will increase interest among Winnipeggers about the Indigenous and Métis people who once lived in this area,' Moysey said. Wednesdays Sent weekly from the heart of Turtle Island, an exploration of Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences. Jackie Corrigan, who wrote the script for the walking tour, said she hopes it will 'expose government ignorance and neglect and show the resilience of Rooster Town.' For Harrow church minister Marc Whitehead, the tour can be a 'reminder of what used to be here … we can be witnesses to an effort to remove that history.' In addition to the tour, visitors can learn about the medicinal plants in the church's healing garden, and view a reconciliation mural painted on the front of the church by Indigenous artist Jeannie White Bird and a group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth. More information, and a tour map, click here. faith@ The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba. If you appreciate that coverage, help us do more! Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow us to deepen our reporting about faith in the province. Thanks! BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER John LonghurstFaith reporter John Longhurst has been writing for Winnipeg's faith pages since 2003. He also writes for Religion News Service in the U.S., and blogs about the media, marketing and communications at Making the News. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.

From doubt to degree: students rewarded after post-COVID pivot
From doubt to degree: students rewarded after post-COVID pivot

Winnipeg Free Press

time4 days ago

  • Winnipeg Free Press

From doubt to degree: students rewarded after post-COVID pivot

Before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world, both Jennifer Breddam and Deanna Garand never dreamed they would go to university — let alone graduate. Breddam, 37, stepped out of her wheelchair she uses due to chronic back problems and walked across the stage to receive her labour studies degree Wednesday at the University of Manitoba spring convocation ceremony. Garand, 32, was handed her degree in nursing a day later. 'I feel I can do a lot of good through a public policy lens,' said Breddam, who will begin a masters degree program in social justice and equity studies at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont., in the fall. Garand said she told people many times through the years that she would never set foot in a university. 'People who know me can't believe I was in university,' she said laughing. 'My aunts are nurses, my grandmother was one too, and they were surprised when I said I've been accepted into nursing — but they were all excited.' Breddam and Garand are two of the 2,934 graduating students receiving their diplomas this week at the U of M Fort Garry campus convocation. The convocation began Wednesday and continues to Friday. The ceremonies have already seen Dave Angus, who was president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce for 17 years before becoming president of Johnston Group, an employee benefits company, be installed as the university's 15th chancellor. Four people will receive honorary degrees, the university's highest honour. They include: former Manitoba premier Greg Selinger; Sister Lesley Sacouman, who joined the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary when she was 17 and went on to co-found Rossbrook House and Esther House; Rosanna Deerchild, host of CBC radio show Unreserved and a Cree storyteller from Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation; and Catherine (Kate) Bowler, a Winnipeg historian and New York Times bestselling author who wrote several memoirs after being diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer at 35. Breddam, who had injured several discs in her back years earlier, was working in human resources with Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority when the pandemic hit. 'With my job, I was in the car for long periods of time, doing visits within the health region, and I had constant back pain,' she said. 'Then, in 2020, one day I couldn't get up — I couldn't stand or walk. For about eight months (during COVID-19 lockdowns) I was pretty much bedridden. I even needed help with dressing and showering. But, when I was lying down, I was not in a lot of pain and my fiance recommended that, to distract me and give me something to work towards, that I register for online courses at the university. 'I knew it wasn't going to be a quick recovery, so I did.' When lockdowns were lifted, Breddam switched to hybrid courses, with some online and others in person. While in university, Breddam became involved with organizations supporting and advocating for people living with disabilities. She has been chairwoman of the Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities for two years. She also served as president of the Labour Studies Students Association. There's only one downside to the two-year degree program she is about to start. 'My wedding for this July has been put on hold — that really sucked — but, while I have received scholarships, I needed the money for my education. My fiance fully supports me.' Garand, who is Métis, was working as a makeup artist and manager with a retail cosmetic company and cannabis outlet when the pandemic shuttered all that. That's when she began looking at her options. 'I never really wanted to go to university, I didn't want to go to school for any reason,' she said. 'But once COVID started, and I couildn't work anymore, my family and friends said why don't you go to school? Maybe you'll find something you like.' Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. Garand said she 'hemmed and hawed' but submitted her application on the final day. 'I thought, if I ever go back to school, now is the time.' With a nursing job in the community waiting for her, she is thanking the university and the Indigenous Student Centre for the support she was given. 'If I had gone back to school when I was younger, I wouldn't have been able to finish,' Garand said. 'I think a little bit of life experience helped. 'I'm glad I did.' Kevin RollasonReporter Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the Winnipeg Sun until 1988, when he joined the Free Press. He has served as the Free Press's city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. Read more about Kevin. Every piece of reporting Kevin produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store