Vera Nakonechny

Vera has been driven to learn as much about Ukrainian folk art since the first stitches she placed on fabric as a young girl. Over time, Vera grew to understand that mastering her art was not only her obligation as a craftsperson, but more importantly, she understood the responsibility she had to protect the ancient cultural heritage of her ancestors.  Due to many foreign campaigns of political and cultural destructions, countless true forms of Ukrainian folk arts have been lost or manipulated beyond recognition. Vera sees herself as a an artist-advocate, with a calling to find, protect, and advance these cultural treasures not only within her own Ukrainian American community, but outside of it as well—thus ensuring that these treasures will never be lost or forgotten.