Pickle Underground

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Pickle Underground

Multi-disciplinary non-profit organization showcasing Ukrainian art and artists working in Canada

08/30/2026

Pickle Underground began in March 2022, in response to a moment of urgency.

Four years later, the context has evolved, but the purpose remains: to make Ukrainian art visible, connected, and part of a wider artistic conversation.

This is why we began — and why we continue.

08/27/2026

From our — November 2025
Inventions in Colour — Live Music

A concert where music, colour, and the inner world of a performer came together.
Presented at Anvil Theatre in New Westminster, Inventions in Colour was built around virtuoso Ukrainian pianist Anna Sagalova and her experience of synesthesia — a neurological phenomenon through which she sees colour while playing music.
Lighting design transformed Anna’s perception into a visual experience for the audience, opening a window into the colours she experiences while performing. The program brought J.S. Bach’s Inventions into conversation with contemporary works by Ukrainian and Canadian composers Volodymyr Ptushkin, David Jaeger, and Anna Pidgorna.

Composer Anna Pidgorna guided audiences through the program, connecting the music, its ideas, and the visual world unfolding alongside it.

The concert also marked the culmination of Inventions of Hope, a project that began in 2024 and supported the creation of Pidgorna’s new piano works inspired by folk melodies from regions of Ukraine deeply affected by russia’s aggression.

Inventions in Colour brought together classical and contemporary music, personal perception, and visual experience — continuing Pickle Underground’s exploration of what can happen when different artistic disciplines meet.

📷 Photo: Anna Chibis

And with this, we’ve reached the end of our — for now.

These projects helped shape what Pickle Underground is today. Now, we’re looking forward to what comes next.

08/24/2026

One last chance to experience Invented Folksongs before the exhibition comes down 👀

On September 5, we’re opening the doors of The Highbrow for a final open house dedicated to Invented Folksongs — a project bringing Ukrainian-rooted music and visual art into conversation.

Drop in anytime between 11 AM and 5 PM to explore the exhibition featuring works by Olha Kriuchkovska and Roksolana Uhryniuk, created around and in dialogue with Anna Pidgorna’s album Invented Folksongs.

You’ll also have a chance to meet composer Anna Pidgorna and hear more about the music, the research behind the album, and the story of the project.
There is no scheduled presentation this time — come when you like, stay as long as you like, listen, look, and explore the project at your own pace.

📅 Saturday, September 5, 2026
⏰ 11 AM–5 PM
📍 The Highbrow
2–1019 Third Ave, New Westminster
🎟 Free · Drop in

After this, Invented Folksongs comes down to make space for our next exhibition. Final chance to visit!

08/22/2026

From our — October 2025
The Making of The Cellar — Documentary

We’re excited to finally share The Making of The Cellar — a short documentary about our opera-theatre project, The Cellar.

Filmed during our two-week workshop in October 2025, this 14-minute documentary goes behind the scenes of the creative process. Through interviews with composer Anna Pidgorna and writer Maria Reva, rehearsal footage, and scenes from the residency, the film explores where the idea came from and how the project began taking shape in the rehearsal room.

The story follows three elderly siblings in southern Ukraine as they take refuge from the Russian occupation of their hometown. Hidden in the same cellar where they survived WWII as children, memory and reality blur as the waves of war and occupation begin to collapse into one another.

The Cellar has been years in the making and continues to grow as we develop it toward a full production. This documentary captures an important moment in that journey — the first time we were able to bring an extended portion of the work into the theatre and discover what it could become onstage.

The Making of The Cellar was produced by our friends at MotionsPictures (Oleksandr Shylov and Anna Shylova-Kolomiets), with additional camera work by Anya Chibis. The production also featured artwork by Kostiantyn Tereshchenko and electronic sound design by Kadaitcha (Yurii Samson and Andrii Kozhuhar).

We’ve never shared this documentary publicly before, and we’re very happy to finally send it out into the world.

Watch the full documentary: https://youtu.be/4Vv342IWsv8?si=PrhQ7gFMt5C3L8fe

08/21/2026

From our — October 2025
The Cellar — Opera-Theatre (Work in Progress)

In October 2025, Pickle Underground teamed up with our founder, composer Anna Pidgorna, and writer Maria Reva to share a work-in-progress presentation of their opera-theatre project The Cellar.

At the centre of the work are three elderly siblings sheltering from the Russian occupation of their hometown in southern Ukraine. As they hide in the same cellar where they survived WWII as children, memories of past occupations begin to collide with the war unfolding around them.

The creative team worked with a number of Pickle Underground regulars and guest artists to shape several scenes during a two-week theatre residency at Deer Lake Artist Residencies and the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Burnaby, BC. They spent the first week developing new musical material with sopranos SJ Kirsch and Sarah Albu, and accordionist Matti Pulkki, followed by a week in the Studio Theatre with director Anna Shylova-Kolomiets and stage manager Masha Birkby, experimenting with staging and production design.

The residency culminated in a public work-in-progress presentation, where the team shared roughly half of the opera with an enthusiastic audience, followed by a conversation with the artists.

The Cellar remains an active project, and we’re looking forward to sharing more as its next chapter unfolds.

08/18/2026

We’re joining the networking part of this year’s Ukrainian Independence Day Picnic 🇺🇦

Come by our booth to meet Pickle Underground, learn more about what we do, and chat with Anna Pidgorna, Artistic Director, and Roksolana Uhryniuk, Visual Curator.

And we’re bringing some news with us 👀
We’ll be announcing two upcoming Pickle Underground events at the picnic — before sharing all the details here.

It’s also a great opportunity to meet other artists, musicians, creatives, and professionals from across Vancouver’s Ukrainian community.
A big thank you to the Ukrainian Canadian Congress – Vancouver Branch Ukrainian Canadian Congress for the invitation and for bringing the community together.

Come say hi — and get a first look at what’s coming next at Pickle Underground.

08/12/2026

From our — May 2025
Mother’s Day Inventions — Live Music

A concert exploring how music from different centuries can speak to one another.
Presented at Holy Eucharist Cathedral in New Westminster, the program brought together pianist Anna Sagalova, guitarist-composer Denys Panchenko, and composer Anna Pidgorna around the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and contemporary composers inspired by his legacy.

The evening traced connections between Bach’s contrapuntal writing and works by Mark Karmynsky, Volodymyr Ptushkin, Denys Panchenko, and Anna Pidgorna, showing how centuries-old musical ideas continue to evolve through contemporary composition.
The concert also featured excerpts from Inventions of Hope, an ongoing cycle by Anna Pidgorna inspired by folk melodies from regions of Ukraine deeply affected by russia’s full-scale invasion. One of the works received its world premiere during the concert.

This project was supported by the Shevchenko Foundation, with commissioning support from the SOCAN Foundation.

The archive continues.

08/05/2026

From our — Lamenting for Ukraine (2024).
This project holds a special place in the story of Pickle Underground.

This four-minute trailer offers a closer look at the performance.

Presented by Pickle Underground and Connect Fest Burnaby, in partnership with United Way and Canadian Music Centre BC.

Videography by Oleksandr Shylov and Anya Chibis.
Video editing by Oleksandr Shylov and Anna Shylova-Kolomiets.

07/28/2026

From our — April 2024
Lamenting for Ukraine — Performance & Live Music

A contemporary ritual of grief, remembrance, and hope.
Presented at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Burnaby, Lamenting for Ukraine invited audiences on a journey through grief toward hope, drawing on ancient Ukrainian lamentation traditions and contemporary music.

The program featured an original lamentation ritual created by the Lamentation Singers (Masha Birkby, Anna Shylova-Kolomiets and Anna Pidgorna) and performance artist Roksolana Uhryniuk, alongside live performances by violinist Jack Campbell and pianist Anna Sagalova.

The musical program included works by Anna Pidgorna (Ukraine/Canada), Arvo Pärt (Estonia), Kaija Saariaho (Finland), Jocelyn Morlock (Canada), and Yevhen Stankovych (Ukraine).

Presented by Pickle Underground and Connect Fest Burnaby, in partnership with United Way and Canadian Music Centre BC.

Videography by Oleksandr Shylov and Anya Chibis.
Video editing by Oleksandr Shylov and Anna Shylova-Kolomiets.

The archive continues.

07/20/2026

From our — March 2024
Crossing Borders — Live Music

A contemporary music concert exploring shared histories across cultures.

Hosted at Holy Eucharist Cathedral in New Westminster, the evening brought together Canadian violinist Jack Campbell and Ukrainian pianist Anna Sagalova in a program curated and introduced by composer Anna Pidgorna.

The concert featured contemporary works by Arvo Pärt (Estonia), Kaija Saariaho (Finland), Jocelyn Morlock (Canada), Yevhen Stankovych (Ukraine), and Anna Pidgorna (Ukraine/Canada). Rather than presenting these composers separately, the program explored the unexpected parallels between countries shaped by imperialism, displacement, and resilience.

For Pickle Underground, this was another opportunity to place Ukrainian music within a broader international conversation — creating dialogue between artistic traditions while introducing audiences to contemporary Ukrainian composition alongside internationally celebrated voices.

Produced with the support of the Canadian Music Centre BC.

The archive continues.

Address

New Westminster, BC

Website

http://pickleunderground.com/

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