History of the Archives
The Bohdan Medwidsky Ukrainian Folklore Archives (BMUFA) in the Kule Folklore Centre isone of the most significant repositories of Ukrainian and Canadian Ukrainian folklore materials in North America. It is open to students, scholars, and the general public. It is used in teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses related to Ukrainian Folklore. It is also used by outside researchers for studies related to Ukrainian and Canadian folklore, and as a resource for continuing community outreach projects and publications.
Mission
The Bohdan Medwidsky Ukrainian Folklore Archives studies, documents, acquires, and preserves Ukrainian folklore in Ukraine, Canada, and around the world as it changes over time, and makes it available to researchers and the public.
Vision
The Bohdan Medwidsky Ukrainian Folklore Archives strives to become the premier resource that documents cultural experiences of Ukrainians in Canada and other diaspora communities, accessible to all and integral to the understanding of Ukrainian diaspora culture in general, and the history and culture of the Prairie Provinces and Canada in particular.
History
The Ukrainian Folklore Archives was founded in 1977 when Bohdan Medwidsky assembled students' fieldwork projects from his first course on Ukrainian folklore. Dr. Medwidsky's vision was the development of a rich, vibrant and lasting resource for studying diverse Ukrainian traditions.
Dr. Medwidsky was born in Ukraine and spent his youth in Switzerland and Toronto. He joined the 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø faculty in 1971, where he has been the driving force in developing the Kule Folklore Centre, degree programs in the field, and many community-based projects promoting Ukrainian culture.
The Ukrainian Folklore Archives was renamed the Bohdan Medwidsky Ukrainian Folklore Archives in 2003 to honour Dr. Medwidsky.
Thanks to scholars and community members BMUFA, over the decades, has expanded its holdings to include oral histories, ritual practices, folk narratives, songs, material culture, and performing arts (plays, music, dance). It also places particular emphasis on Ukrainian Canadian experiences, collecting unpublished memoirs, family traditions, organizational records, and cultural expressions across generations.
In 2020, the Archives also received a significant transfer of materials from the Ukrainian Canadian Archives and Museum of Alberta (UCAMA) following its closure after 48 years of operation. This acquisition included hundreds of boxes containing archival records of numerous individuals and community organizations.
Over the years, many dedicated individuals have shaped the Bohdan Medwidsky Ukrainian Folklore Archives. In the 1990s, Brian Cherwick and Oleksandr Makar contributed significantly to archival growth and preservation. In the 2000s, Nadya Foty expanded the collection through digitization partnerships, followed by Genia Boivin and Svitlana Kukharenko, who focused on cataloguing. From 2011 to 2022, Maryna Chernyavska led the Archives with vision and innovation — developing a web portal for Ukrainian heritage institutions, organizing national conferences and webinars, co-chairing the UCC National Archives Committee, mentoring students and community volunteers, and launching groundbreaking initiatives such as U-ART and the Indigenous Ukrainian Relationship Initiative.
BMUFA Home | Using the Archives | Visiting the Archives