Ukrainian embroidery in Eastern Ontario, recorded on the makers’ terms
Twenty embroiderers in Lanark County and Ottawa, recorded in their own words: what each stitch is called, which motif belongs to which region, when a rushnyk is given. Each maker decides what is shared and can take it back at any time. This page describes the plan; nothing has been recorded yet.
The project in one paragraph
Ukrainian embroidery (vyshyvka) and the embroidered ritual cloth (rushnyk) are living crafts in Canada. In Eastern Ontario they are kept by two groups: families whose patterns came with earlier waves of migration, and newcomers who arrived after 2022 with village techniques still in daily use. Their knowledge passes from hand to hand and is almost never recorded in the maker’s own words. Over 18 months this project records 20 makers in audio, video and close-up photographs, publishes what each of them approves on FirstCiv, and turns the experience into a free guide that any Canadian community group can follow.
Why this craft, why Eastern Ontario, why now
In the 2021 census, 1,258,635 people in Canada reported Ukrainian ethnic or cultural origins (Statistics Canada). By March 2025 more than 300,000 Ukrainians had arrived under the federal CUAET program (IRCC), many of them in Ontario. Museums keep finished shirts and cloths; they rarely keep the maker explaining why a motif belongs to her village or which stitch her grandmother taught her.
On 13 September 2026 UAFest, the festival of Ukrainian culture in Carleton Place, hosted the North American premiere of The Rushnyk of Unity — Rushnyk of Victory, a cloth of 103 rushnyky joined into one, registered as a European record by The Book of World Records in May 2026. Families signed up on the festival site to carry it through Carleton Place, and the festival programme included an embroidery masterclass. The project starts from that contact.
What the project will make
20 maker pages on FirstCiv
PlannedExcerpts of a 45–60 minute interview, video of hands at work, 30–60 close-up photographs, Ukrainian and English transcripts. Each item is published only after its maker approves it.
Six short films
PlannedTwo to four minutes each, English subtitles, cut only from material cleared for film. Screened free at UAFest in Carleton Place and at a public venue in Ottawa in 2028.
Three community sessions
PlannedOctober 2027, February 2028 and June 2028: makers and families watch the collection together, correct it and choose what goes into the films.
A free consent-first recording guide
PlannedAbout 8,000 words in English, French and Ukrainian, with the consent form, information sheet and session plan, so other community groups can run the same process without us.
How each maker stays in control
Separate consent choices for every item
LivePublic display, research, education and machine processing are separate choices on FirstCiv. See the contribution form.
A person reviews everything before publication
LiveNothing appears on the site until a moderator approves it, and every decision is written to a public, hash-chained ledger.
Withdrawal removes the item
LiveWhen a maker withdraws consent, the item is unpublished and its media stop being served.
A consent meeting before any recording
PlannedThe first meeting is a conversation without a camera. The maker reads an information sheet in Ukrainian or English and ticks her choices: shown publicly or kept private, in a film or not, automatic transcription or not.
Paid time and a full copy
PlannedEach maker receives an honorarium of USD 200 per recording session and her complete material on a USB drive.
The rules follow the First Nations principles of OCAP® and the CARE principles for Indigenous data governance, applied here to a newcomer community. More in Data sovereignty.
Eighteen months, step by step
- May – Jun 2027
- Hire a bilingual documentation assistant from the community, buy and test the recording kit, publish the call for makers.
- Jun – Sep 2027
- 25 consent meetings at makers’ homes and in halls; a project table at UAFest 2027 in Carleton Place.
- Oct 2027 – Mar 2028
- 30 recording sessions with 20 makers, about two hours each.
- Jan – Jun 2028
- Human transcription and translation; each maker reviews her own material; approved items published in monthly batches.
- Jun – Aug 2028
- Six films edited from material cleared for film.
- 2028 season
- Free screenings at UAFest in Carleton Place and in Ottawa.
- Sep – Oct 2028
- The guide is written, translated and published; final report to the funder and to the makers.
Honest numbers
- Makers to be recorded (25 invited)
- 20
- Short films planned
- 6
- Community review sessions
- 3
- Recordings made so far
- 0
The last figure is zero on purpose: recording starts only when the project is funded and each maker has set her terms.
Who runs it
Maksym Stepanenko, project leader, lives in Kanata, Ottawa. He co-founded the Ukrainian Community of Lanark County, the Ontario not-for-profit that runs UAFest, built the festival’s website, and designed and built FirstCiv. He speaks Ukrainian with the makers. A bilingual documentation assistant from the community and a freelance videographer-editor join the team when the project is funded.
FirstCiv is operated by INNOVA CONSULT LTD., his Canadian company. Grant funds pay the makers, the assistant, the videographer, the fieldwork and the project leader's working days; INNOVA CONSULT receives no grant money.
Where the proposal stands
Proposed to the 2027 Trebek Initiative of the National Geographic Society and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Requested: USD 49,000 for May 2027 – October 2028. Funding decisions are announced by 30 April 2027; the project starts only if it is funded.