We are in Przemyśl which plays host to the Narodniy Dim – the National House – which is run by the Association of Ukrainians in Poland. A number of families which were deported from this area in 1947 as part of Operation Vistula have since returned and are cultivating their regional traditions, language and music.

We take a look at some of these stories as part of a project which aims to draw attention to Ukrainian cultural heritage and its rekindling after years of neglect.

In the episode, the Hub’s John Beauchamp and Katarzyna Jagodzińska are in Przemyśl to meet a number of Ukrainian activists,including:

• Igor Horków – director of the Narodniy Dim in Przemyśl who underlines that the house open “for everyone”
• Maria Tucka – a local educator who promotes regional costumes and the ‘Pearls of the Borderland’ ethnographic collection
• Maria Mryczko – a local artist who works with papercutting as part of the Narodniy Dim’s activities
• Tatiana Czarna-Nakonieczna – a local activist who runs the ‘Krajka’ and ‘Krajeczka’ folk music groups

In the podcast we also hear from Tatiana Harasym and Aleksandra Steć from Krajka. Daria Pulkovska joins them for the vocal pieces presented in the podcast. Maksym Nakonieczny (Tatiana’s son) also makes an appearance as the frontman of the Hraybery folk ensemble, which also accompanies Krajeczka.

This podcast was made as part of the academic research project “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ukrainians in Poland: Mapping and Dissemination”. The project is funded by the Jagiellonian University as part of its Strategic Programme Excellence Initiative.