Art Picnic Ukrainian culture festival starts Monday in Krakow

Ukrainian art, literature, music and fashion will be on show during the Art Picnic event starting on Monday at the cultural institute in Krakow, southern Poland.

The event will be in the format of a week-long festival for the first time, running from August 24 to 30 at Willa Decjusza and the nearby park, as an exercise in popularising Ukrainian art and culture.

The official opening will be attended by Ukrainian Consul General in Krakow Viacheslav Voynarovskiy, Willa Decjusza Director Dominika Kasprowicz and Slava Frolova, Art Picnic’s artistic manager from the Fund for Development and Support of Young Ukrainian Art.

"Art Picnic at the Willa Decjusza is the first in a series of large open-air events promoting meetings with culture in a renaissance architectural pearl - Krakow's Villa Decjusza," said Prof. Dominka Kasprowicz, the venue's director.

"Our aim is to promote cultural heritage and to create a 'meeting place' for representatives of the worlds of academia, culture and art," she continued. "For 25 years, Willa Decjusza as an important centre of regional and European debate has promoted Krakow and Poland on the international arena, supporting creators and the activities of people and institutions working for human rights. A week with the culture and art of Ukraine is a proposition for the residents of Krakow and visitors, who, in the green surroundings of Park Decjusza, will be able to get to know the 'new Krakovians' more closely."

Most of the festival's events will be held outdoors and some will require prior registration.

The first Art Picnic was held in Kiev in 2013. Its main purpose is to popularise the art and culture of Ukraine as well as tolerance and mutual understanding. Although it started in Ukraine, it is being hosted in Krakow for the third time, but the first time for a full week.

Due to the coronavirus epidemic, it is obligatory to disinfect hands at the event, cover the nose and mouth and maintain social distancing.