Pictured: Moki Kokoris at the North Pole

By Jane Moynihan

March 23, 2022: The Bronxville Adult School will host a virtual presentation, “Celebrate the Spirit and Cultural Legacy of Ukraine!” by Motrya (Moki) Kokoris on Monday, March 28th. Moki has spent much of her professional life teaching many subjects, among them Ukrainian studies and language.

The Bronxville Adult School booked her two years ago to teach a workshop this spring on the Ukrainian art of decorating eggs known as pysanky, but when Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24th, the adult school and Moki realized they needed to shift the focus of the class. Suddenly, the whole world was watching the people of Ukraine fight for their independence, land and right to keep their unique cultural identity.

What is their heritage and why are the Ukrainian people so determined to protect it? Instead of teaching a workshop of a single form of traditional art, Moki will address this compelling question by exploring Ukraine's complex history, decorative folk arts, language, traditions, geography, and regional distinctions. The registration fee is $20, and the Bronxville Adult School will donate all proceeds to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine and border refugee camps.

Ukrainians have amazed the world with their willingness to risk their lives to maintain their independence. Moki stresses that “since Ukraine finally gained its full independence, its people are determined to not lose their cultural identity. The Ukrainian spirit and legacy are evident in their art, music, dance and literature.” For example, “when looking at a piece of embroidery, you can identify not only which country, but also which specific region it’s from based on the stitch, design and colors. Many traditional costumes, holiday customs, foods and musical instruments are uniquely Ukrainian.” Her presentation will also touch on the origins of Kyivan Rus' and the influence of the Scandinavian Vikings on the territory. Other topics will include the Kozak master horsemen, the wooden vernacular architecture of the Carpathians, and ancient folklore.

The virtual presentation begins at 7pm (via Zoom) and will include lots of time for questions and answers on Ukraine and the current conflict. Moki has been an educator all of her adult life and likes to interact with her students in the discussion. She says her goal is to provide the background and a wider context through which to better understand what is at stake in their fight against Russia. Since the invasion, her daily life has been consumed with staying connected with efforts to help, noting that the situation in some cases is actually worse than what the U.S. news coverage presents.

Moki was born in the U.S. to immigrant parents and spent much of her childhood in a tight-knit Ukrainian community in New Jersey. Trained as an architect and graphic artist, her impressive multidisciplinary career and background include being the first Ukrainian woman to reach the North Pole and being a contestant at multiple international piano competitions (she graduated from the Ukrainian Music Institute). She is a United Nations representative in consultative status with the UN Department of Global Communications for the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s organizations and worked to establish a hospital in Odessa for children born with birth defects as a result of the Chornobyl disaster.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Moki was invited to contribute her art toward the design of paper money for newly sovereign Ukraine. She has written articles for a number of Ukrainian publications and is a member of many Ukrainian organizations in the diaspora.

She credits her accomplishments to her Ukrainian background, explaining that tenacity and determination are part of her DNA. “When I look at my Ukrainian friends and colleagues, most of us are very ambitious and high achieving, not in a competitive sense, but more as a collective purpose for the betterment of all. Professionally and vocationally, many Ukrainians are multidisciplinary, which elevates the stature of the populace as a whole.”

To sign up for Moki’s presentation or to browse the catalog, please visit bronxvilleadultschool.org or call 914.395.0516 or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can follow the BAS on Instagram and Facebook. The Bronxville Adult School is a not-for-profit organization incorporated in 1957 and chartered by the New York State.