Artist: Peter Shostak
Opening Date: October 2, 2026
Location: Library Reading Room at Oseredok
As part of Oseredok’s major Fall Exhibition Season launching on October 2, we proudly present Peter Shostak: Stories of a New Land. Housing one of Canada’s largest public collections of Peter Shostak’s work, Oseredok presents selected highlights from the artist’s monumental series For Our Children. Completed in 1991 after five years of intensive work, the series comprises fifty large-scale oil paintings tracing the profound experiences of Ukrainian newcomers to Western Canada between 1891 and 1918.
Born and raised on a farm in northeastern Alberta, Peter Shostak draws deeply from his Ukrainian heritage, childhood memories of rural life in the 1940s and 1950s, and meticulous historical research. While firmly grounded in the Ukrainian-Canadian pioneer experience, the works speak universally to the grit, resilience, and challenges faced by immigrant communities establishing new lives on the prairies.
Shostak’s descriptive, sentence-like titles — such as “It was very difficult to get ahead if you didn’t know any English” and “We didn’t eat anything until we brought the blessed paska home” — imbue each scene with the immediacy of a remembered voice. Eschewing romanticized tropes, the paintings unflinchingly acknowledge displacement, hardship, isolation, and struggle, alongside humour, faith, deep community cooperation, and the enduring determination to build a future.
These powerful paintings preserve individual narratives while cementing a vital visual history of Ukrainian life and settlement in Canada.
Have questions about gallery hours, accessibility, or upcoming programming?
Call us: (204) 942-0218
Email: info@oseredok.ca
