Artist for Shevchenko Statue in Timmins selected

Committee approved sketch of Taras Shevchenko
– 200th Anniversary Statue for Timmins, prior
to sculpting by Tyler Fauvelle. "Kobzar" is in his left hand,
tucked partially into his jacket, and held close to his heart.

Earlier this year, the Ukrainian Canadian community in Timmins Ontario approached Ukrainian Credit Union Limited with a request for help in funding a new Taras Shevchenko statue in a local park. The existing statue was vandalized. The folks organizing this project have been sending us info from time to time to show the progress. Below is the text of a news release we received last week.


MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT – October 29, 2014

Northern Ontario Artist chosen to Create Statue of Famous Ukrainian Poet Taras Shevchenko for Kobzar Park in Timmins, Ontario, Canada

The Kobzar Park Rejuvenation Committee is pleased to announce they have selected Tyler Fauvelle, a talented Northern Ontario artist based in Lively, Ontario, to create a bronze statue for Kobzar Park located in downtown Timmins, Ontario, Canada.

The statue depicts the famous Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko, and is being created to celebrate the bicentennial of his birth in 2014. The height of statue will be 4 feet tall and depicts Shevchenko standing in traditional winter dress with a Persian lamb skin hat, holding a collection of poetry close to his heart. The sculpture is currently at a foundry in Toronto waiting to be cast into bronze and will be officially unveiled at Kobzar Park in downtown Timmins in August 2015.

David Yaschyshyn, Project Chair assists sculptor Tyler Fauvelle
take measurements at Kobzar Park

Timmins will join the ranks of Winnipeg, Oakville, Ottawa, New York, and Washington as cities in North America that have statues dedicated to Shevchenko.

Significant donors making this project possible have included: the Temerty Family Foundation, The Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian Credit Union Limited, Ukrainian Seniors Centre (Sudbury), Ukrainian Cultural Group of Timmins, as well as local businesses including: NISG-Heritage Paving, Kidd Operations, Goldcorp, IAMGOLD, Porcupine Insurance, and local individuals.

Typer Fauvelle in his studio applying finishing touches to a clay model
of the statute for Timmins' Kobzar Park

Fundraising efforts are ongoing, as funds are still needed to complete upgrades in the park, including: purchasing plantings for new flower beds, sandblasting and painting the metal entrance gate, installing two plaques, installing a story board, hiring an arborist, pressure washing and sealing the concrete monument, and installing rain barrels. Donations can be mailed or dropped off at the Timmins Museum – 325 Second Avenue, Timmins, ON P4N or by emailing kobzarpark@gmail.com. Donors will receive a tax deductible receipt.

About Kobzar Park - Kobzar Park is located in Timmins on the corner of Mountjoy Street South and Second Avenue, within the Timmins Downtown Business Improvement Association. The park was officially established in 1981 and dedicated in 1984 to recognize the contributions of pioneer settlers to Canada and the Porcupine Camp. A central feature of the park was a marble statue of Taras Shevchenko which was vandalized beyond repair in the early 2000’s. Fundraising for the project started in March 2014 with seed funding from the Ukrainian Cultural Group of Timmins. “Kobzar” the name of the park is also the title to a collection of famous poems written by Taras Shevchenko.

Official log of the commemoration of 200th
anniversary from the birth of Taras Shevchenko

About Taras Shevchenko – Taras Shevchenko was a significant contributor to the literary arts during the mid-1800’s in Ukraine.  He is the national poet of Ukraine, equivalent to William Shakespeare in England, Robert Burns in Scotland, and Victor Hugo in France. Translations of Kobzar into various worldwide languages attest to Shevchenko’s poems impact on world culture.  2014 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of this world-renowned poet.

About Tyler Fauvelle -  A professional sculptor inspired by history and nature, and especially interested in exploring the human heroic impulse, Tyler Fauvelle sculpts in clay, and casts his work in bronze.  He created three 7 ft. bronze statues, located at the Timmins Museum, for the Timmins Centennial in 2012.  Recent work includes a life-sized bronze sculpture of Stompin’
Tom Connors, to be unveiled in July 2015.  He is also working on a WW I  commemorative
bronze monument; details of this Northern Ontario project will be released in November 2014.

For More Information Contact:

David Yaschyshyn
Chair, Kobzar Park Rejuvenation Committee - Timmins
Tel: 705-360-1467,
Email: yaschysh@ntl.sympatico.ca

Helen Yaschyshyn
President, Ukrainian Cultural Group of Timmins
Cell: 365-6362  Email: yaschysh@ntl.sympatico.ca

Tyler Fauvelle – Sculpture by Tyler Fauvelle, 569 Main Street
Lively, Ontario, P3Y 1M9
tel: 705-692-0664, email: tyler@tylerfauvelle.ca,
web: www.tylerfauvelle.ca