Art from Ukraine on auction at annual Christmas market in Saskatoon [Video]

On Saturday, at the Canadian Ukrainian Museum in Saskatoon, the Ukrainian Canadian community gathered for their annual Christmas market, Yamarok.

The annual market brings Ukrainian artisans to the museum to sell novelty goods, clothing and antiques, while participants dine on Ukrainian cuisine.

This year, the market had a special feature, an art gallery with paintings from artists in Ukraine, depicting their experiences in the war. The room was filled live Ukrainian cultural music as attendees mused over paintings both hopeful, resilient, and heartbreaking.

Jen Budney, executive director of the Ukrainian Museum of Canada, helped coordinate with Ukrainian artists and the art conglomeration Pictoric, based in Kyiv.

“Since the full-scale assault began nearly three years ago in 2022, they’ve really amped up their activity to show the lives of Ukrainians in this war – their hopes, aspirations, fears, losses and wins,” said Budney.

The festival included this element to keep awareness …