Part 9: Building on and Learning from What's Been Done (discussion)

CIUS conference audio (Part 9 of 16)

Outline of presentation:

Directed by Frances Swyripa

Ed Ledohowski also knows an art photographer from Massachusetts who has been taking the churches. Looking for a repository for his work.
Faith vs. heritage. Funding – can we get the same today? Manageability, duplication. (Frances Swyripa)
Modeling a project the way we did made it possible to include volunteers. This is a project with time running out. People are dying, losing their memories. Maybe there’s a 10-year window to do this. (Stella Hryniuk)
The students had a guidebook on how to take the photographs, in what order. They had also black velvet for photographing objects. (Roman Yereniuk)
Set up a field school in connection with the Folklore Center to work on this project. They would get training in field methodology. (Natalka Kononenko)
Maybe this could be done in conjunction with History and Classics. (Frances Swyripa) Or HUCO or Library. (Natalka Kononenko)
Oral history at this stage is risky. Memories are jumbled. Parish archives are lost or sitting molding in someone’s basement. Chasing congregational records is not easy. There is little info on material history in church archives. Ukrainian newspapers are useful in this regard, esp. in early years – correspondences about churches. Artistic photography and paintings important, but also documentary archival photography. (Jars Balan)
Aerial photos – the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village has some, that are relevant to their own buildings. Provincial govt has internships through Athabasca U, U of Calgary. (Stefan Sokolowski)
Ukrainian Village has three churches. They have very detailed reports about them (materials, etc.). Bobersky photographs in Oseredok, Winnipeg. Thinks Ukrainian halls should also be included. Some cemeteries are not related to churches. Not only the prairies but Ontario. Film on Saskatchewan grave maker on YouTube. (Peter Melnycky)
We should restrict to religious objects. (Frances Swyripa)
Bobersky photos are bizarrely coded and hardly described. U of A did some itinerary of the collection, but it’s not a very usable collection. She is now visiting churches in Alberta and is impressed by some of the archival improvement introduced by Metropolitan Lawrence. The context is very important – the spirituality. There is a large Lipinsky collection looking for a home. (Gloria Romaniuk)
UCAMA has black-and-white photos taken by Mr. Jopyk in the 1970s, also paintings by Pani Iwanets (already digitally photographed). Are digital methods safe for preservation? (Michelle Tracey)
Since we will be working with young people, students, we have to be aware of distinctions between faith, theology, spirituality. The latter – the personal connection – will interest and motivate students the most today. This was not addressed in their project, although they did have people interested in the institutional church, theology, belief. All of these aspects have to be addressed. More than “religion.” Sometimes there are halls where churches used to be. Winnipeg Tribune photos and descriptions are in U of M archives – valuable stuff there. (Stella Hryniuk)
Lots in the consistory archives of the Orthodox church in Winnipeg. Perhaps a proper archive could result from this project. (Sandy Sawchuk) UCAMA is trying to build a safe environment and would be a proper archive in the future. (Michelle Tracey)
The Russo-Orthodox are warm, but they will be suspicious. Who is asking? What will it be used for? She herself is connected with this church. She knows that people are not aware of the value of what they have. The project would be a learning experience for people. She has church archives in her own home! (Sylvia Chinery)
How should we go about making contact with the rural communities? (Frances Swyripa)
Even if we just identify what has been done, it will be a great thing. We must also identify who can help us with this project. We also have to identify the sources of funds. Alberta govt promises money for cultural projects – get them while they’re being offered. (Peter Savaryn)
Perhaps compile a list of methodologies to develop a template. Cooperation between projects in Manitoba was important – this project should do the same. And avoid duplication. Don’t redo Ed’s project where Ed’s doing it. Devolution important to management. (Brian Cherwick)
Should we put everything on line? (Frances Swyripa)
The community will like digital resources, genealogy people, historical background of family. If it’s digitized, it’s available all over. (Anne-Marie Decore)
And more.
1:30-2:30: Technical Aspects, Part 1

Outline found in this PDF