The Holodomor Memorial Project

October 26, 2018

TORONTO October 26, 2018 – On Sunday, October 21, members of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Toronto Branch, Toronto Ukrainian Foundation, the Holodomor Memorial Project design team and the Canadian-Ukrainian community gathered at Canada Blvd at Exhibition Place, across from Enercare Centre, to attend the unveiling of the Holodomor Memorial Project – a site dedicated to acknowledging, commemorating and reflecting on the victims of this tragic event.

From 1932 to 1933, millions of Ukrainians starved to death due to a man-made famine as a result of policies under Joseph Stalin and his regime, The genocide, known as Holodomor, claimed around 10 million Ukrainians. At its peak, up to 25,000 people died each day.

Image credit: Brown and Storey Architects Inc.

The objective of this project, according to Toronto Ukrainian Foundation is to

• erect a memorial to the victims of the Holodomor,
• provide an appropriate public site for an annual Holodomor Commemoration on the 4th Saturday of each November

From Brown and Storey Architects:

“The Memorial is composed of a narrative of three Millstone Gardens – Remembrance, Resilience and Renascence – all leading through winding paths to the main site. At this central position, the iconic sculpture “Bitter Memory of Childhood”, by the Ukrainian artist Petro Drozdowsky, is featured in a space paved in a special pattern to suggest traditional embroidery, and lined with sitting areas and a trellis.

The trellis will feature the names of the many generous donors from Toronto’s Ukrainian community who have made this memorial a reality. At each of the Millstone Gardens, ornamental screens have been erected that feature awarded entries that have been fabricated to represent the artists’ interpretation of the themes of Remembrance, Resilience and Renascence, the results of an open public art competition held by the Toronto Ukrainian Foundation. The featured artists are Anastasia Zaiats, Brad Emsley, and Rhonda Weppler.”

“Bitter Memory of Childhood”
Source: UCC Twitter
Photo credit: Light U Studio

Project Team:

• Ukrainian Canadian Congress Toronto Branch
• Toronto Ukrainian Foundation project lead: Oksana Rewa
• Ukrainian Canadian Congress
• The consultant team was led by Brown and Storey Architects Inc. (Kim Storey, James Brown, Lisa Mactaggart, Stephen King, Samuel Vandersluis, Kosta Derbish, Gabriela Velez), with subconsultants Streamliner Fabrications (Stephen Richards), HL Engineering (Ming Jia Li), and LEA Engineering (John Ford, Rick Baldasti, Michael Du). The contractors for this project are Aldershot Landscaping Contractors Ltd.

Exhibition Place is honoured to have been able to provide the land for this important significant memorial.

Watch the video of the October 21st the Holodomor Memorial Project unveiling of the here.