Awards & Recognition

Lianna has been honored with numerous awards, recognitions, and residencies from both the professional theatre and Ukrainian communities. She has also been invited as a featured speaker at several community events.

  • Finalist – Gina’s Prize – A national prize awarded to an inspirational theatre artist with a demonstrated body of work who is recognized by their communities for their practice, leadership and dedication to their craft (2024)

  • Winner - Dora Mavor Moore Award – Outstanding Direction for First Métis Man of Odesa (2023)

  • Top 40 Under 40 – Edify Edmonton Magazine (2023) - Recognizes and celebrates Edmonton's young and most exceptional community leaders.

  • Named one of the top 50 Canadian Fellows of Ukraine – International Charitable Fund UDonation (2023)

  • Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Nomination (2023) – Alina by Lianna Makuch – Outstanding New Play

  • Finalist – Alberta Playwrighting Award (2022) – Alina by Lianna Makuch

  • Edmonton Artist Trust Fund Award (2022) - The EATF invests in the creative community by supporting living and working expenses, allowing exceptional local artists to devote time to their artistic career.

  • Named a Local Hero of Ukraine by Shumka

  • Barvinok Screenplay - Project officially selected to pitch at the Canada-Ukraine Co-Production Conference (2021)

  • REACH Award – National Shevchenko Foundation/Ihnatowycz Family Foundation (2020)

  • Anna Pidruchny Award for New Writers, Ukrainian Resource and Development Centre – Awarded for Barvinok (2020)

  • National Leadership Award – Ukrainian Canadian Congress National (2019)

  • Hetman Award – Ukrainian Canadian Congress – Alberta Provincial Council (2019)

  • Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award Nominations: (Barvinok by Lianna Makuch): Outstanding Independent Production, Outstanding New Work, Outstanding Sound Design, Outstanding Multimedia Design.

  • Top 30 Under 30 Artist – Alberta Council for Ukrainian Arts (2018)

  • ACUA-URDC Award (Alberta Council for Ukrainian Arts – Ukrainian Research and Development Centre)

  • Rena Hanchuk & Yaroslav Kitynskyy Emerging Artist Award (2018)

Residencies

  • Izolyatsia Cultural Platform, Residency –  Kyiv UA – Development of new play Alina – February 2020

  • Wild Theatre / Les Kurbas Theatre – Kyiv, UA – Artist-in-Residence - Workshop & Development of Barvinok (2018)

(left to right) Banff Centre for the Arts, Izolyatsia Cultural Platform, Wild Theatre

Featured Speaker

  • Crafting Culture Through Storytelling
    MacEwan University, Allard Hall, Feigel Conference Centre
    An open talk exploring the intersections of culture, art, and storytelling. Lianna will share insights into her artistic ethnographic work, including her research in Ukraine both before and after Russia’s full-scale invasion, and the profound impact these experiences have had on her creative process. She will also discuss the projects she has undertaken during her residency and her unique approach to storytelling.

    February 25, 2025. Edmonton, AB.

  • Workshop Leader: MacEwan Writing Centre - Inspiring Dynamic Storytelling. The workshop will begin with an interview and question-and-answer period about Makuch’s prolific career as a writer, theatre artist, including her distinctive ethnographic research process. Participants will then engage in a collaborative exercise focused on generating story content and honing structure applicable across creative disciplines.

    February 12, 2025. Edmonton, AB.

  • Moderator: Indigenous Ukrainian Relationship Building Initiative. Storying Indigenous-Ukrainian-Canadian Relationships. A round table discussion.

    May 7, 2023. Edmonton, AB.

  • Bustle & Beast: IN CONVERSATION: THEATRE CREATION IN RESPONSE TO GLOBAL CONFLICT & CRISIS. Panelist.

    April 1, 2023. Toronto, ON.

  • Creative Nonfiction Collective: Ukrainian Canadian Writers in a time of War. Myrna Kostash in Conversation with Ruby Swanson and Lianna Makuch.

    January 21, 2023

  • Ryga Arts Festival: Creating Theatre from Real World events. September 23, 2023. Summerland, BC.

  • SUSK Congress 2022: Artists, Tradition, and History: The Importance of Cultural Heritage in Creative Practices.

    May 13, 2022. Edmonton, AB.