On Saturday, May 31, 2014 the Ukrainian community in Quebec realized its dream to honour the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Ukraine’s most renowned poet, Taras Shevchenko, with the unveiling of a bronze bust of Shevchenko on the Allée des Poètes in Quebec City.
Irka Mycak, Director of the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko (Shevchenko Foundation) was among the hundreds of spectators, who attended the official unveiling of the monument.
“Shevchenko Foundation is very proud to have supported such an important project, and congratulates the Quebec Shevchenko Monument Committee for this tremendous achievement”, said Ms Mycak. “The unveiling of this bust to Shevchenko has been a rallying point for Quebec’s Ukrainian community, and provides a strong Ukrainian presence in the heart of French Quebec.”
Working in partnership with the Commission de la Capitale Nationale (National Capital Commission) and the Ville de Québec (City of Quebec), the Quebec Shevchenko Monument Committee endowed the bust of Shevchenko, a sculpture by Toronto artist Oleh Lesiuk. The Commission and City of Quebec allocated and prepared the land for the monument, installed the granite pedestal, and will maintain the monument in perpetuity.
The Allée des Poètes already accommodates the bronze busts of such world-renown poets as Dante Alighieri (Italy), Alexander Pushkin (Russia), and Nguyen Trai (Vietnam).
