The Foundation
Bohdan Soroka Charity Fund is an independent institution that was established in Lviv in December 2022, during the Russian invasion, at the behest of his daughter Ustyna Soroka fashion designer and professor of ceramics at the Lviv Institute of Art, who is already among the promoters of the Save Ukraine Art 22 initiative.
Following the teachings of Bohdan, who was also a defender and popularizer of Ukrainian culture and art, Ustyna-during a war where the Russians once again aim to destroy her country’s history and culture-decided to name the Foundation after her father, and dedicated herself to promoting the development, protection, preservation and popularization of cultural and artistic heritage in Ukraine.
Bohdan Soroka
Bohdan Soroka was born on September 2, 1940, in Brygidky Prison in Lviv, Ukraine.
Her mother, Kateryna Zarytska, a well-known political activist and freedom fighter for Ukraine, was imprisoned by the Soviets while she was pregnant with her child.
He had a great sense of humor, a curious intellect and an irresistible energy. His way of thinking was unique and amazing; he continually and tirelessly tried to make his art perfect, even during the periods when it was banned by the KGB from all exhibitions in the Soviet Union.
One of Bohdan Soroka’s fascinations, often implemented in his art, was his love for Ukrainian folk art, particularly Hutsulian folk art (from the Carpathian region of Ukraine). He became one of the earliest collectors of Hutsulian art and, traveling on foot from village to village, created the largest collection of rare Ukrainian wooden candelabras that would otherwise have been lost.
Soroka is considered one of the greatest Ukrainian artists of the 20th century his main technique was linocut, engraving on linoleum matrices, although there are several works with oil painting technique on canvas. He became very close to graphic design and in 1993 was invited to teach at the Lviv National Academy of Art, where in 1996 he founded the Department of Industrial Graphics, of which he was dean until 2006.
In 2012 he was awarded the Order for Intellectual Courage by the Independent Cultural Magazine “Ji.” In 2013 he decided to write The Memoirs of Bohdan Soroka a book that tells the true story of his entire generation and time. The Memoirs became one of the best-selling works of contemporary biographical prose in Ukraine. Given the interest of readers, his Memoirs had to be republished after his death.