Trunk Tales

This article presents a case study of the Ukrainian Museum of Canada – Ontario Branch through its flagship exhibit, Trunk Tales: Leaving Home...Finding Home. The Museum—founded in 1944 with modest means and a single artifact—now operates as a compact but influential institution, preserving the material and intangible heritage of Ukrainian-Canadians across five distinct waves of migration. This paper examines the Museum’s spatial limitations, digital adaptations, and interpretive strategies in curating diasporic memory. Through the lens of the Trunk Tales exhibit, which combines historical artifacts, oral histories, and community narratives, the study analyzes how the Museum navigates themes of forced migration, cultural preservation, and identity transformation. Special attention is given to moments of cultural exchange, particularly between Ukrainian and Indigenous communities, as seen in shared artistic practices. The exhibit also explores the Museum’s response to historical silences, such as the omission of WWI internment narratives, revealing tensions between preservation and erasure. The evolving mission of the Museum—especially in light of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine—underscores the urgency and complexity of diasporic remembrance. Ultimately, this article argues that the Museum functions not only as a container of cultural memory, but as an active agent in shaping the living identity of Canada’s Ukrainian diaspora. By examining its physical and digital presence, this case study contributes to broader museological discussions on space, narrative authority, and the politics of memory in diasporic institutions.