U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC)
Washington, D.C., Friday, July 9, 2010

SMITHSONIAN INVITES UKRAINE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ANNUAL FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL ON THE NATIONAL MALL IN 2013 OR 2014

U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), Wash, D.C., Fri, July 9, 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The world famous Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. has officially invited Ukraine to participate as a featured country at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall of the United States in the summer of 2013 or 2014. 

Ihor Poshyvailo, a Fulbright Scholar from Ukraine with the Smithsonian Institution - Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage during past nine months, explained the official invitation issued by the Smithsonian to the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, at a special reception and dinner in Washington on June 30th, for the new Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, Oleksander Motsyk, hosted by the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC). 

Poshyvailo is a leading expert in Ukraine on folk art and folk culture and serves as deputy head of the National Center for Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum" in Kyiv.  He has been discussing with officials at the Smithsonian about the possibility of Ukraine being featured at the annual Folklife Festival during his time in Washington.  

Poshyvailo told those who attended the dinner he is very pleased and honored the Smithsonian has invited Ukraine and he will be spending considerable time in Ukraine promoting this opportunity when he returns to Kyiv in mid-July.  He explained that strong support is needed from the Government of Ukraine, the Ukrainian-American Community in the U.S. and from the U.S. business community who are investing and operating in Ukraine.  It could take up to $1.5 million in total financial support from various sources for Ukraine to have a world-class exhibition he reported.

Ihor Poshyvailo said "Support from the members of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC) would be critical to the success of Ukraine's exhibition at the Folklife Festival.  I have been discussing this matter with Morgan Williams, Director, Government Relations, Washington office of SigmaBleyzer Private Equity Group, who serves as president of USUBC.  Morgan has been to the Honchar Folk Culture Museum in Kyiv many times, and understands the importance of this invitation to Ukraine and believes the U.S. business community will support Ukraine's participation in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival."

Ihor presented copies of the official invitation letter from the Smithsonian to President Yanukovych to all those who attended the dinner for Ambassador Motsyk. The letter from the Smithsonian states:

SMITHSONIAN
Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

Smithsonian Folklife Festival
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Smithsonian Global Sound
Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
Cultural Heritage Research, Education and Policy

April 12, 2010

Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych
President of Ukraine
c/o Embassy of Ukraine
3350 M Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20007

Dear President Yanukovych,

It is my pleasure to invite Ukraine to participate as a featured country at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall of the United States in Washington, D.C. in 2013 [or 2014].  The Festival provides a wonderful opportunity for Ukraine to focus attention on its people, culture and history in front of more than one million visitors to the event, and the millions more reached by media coverage.

The Festival is America's pre-eminent cultural exhibition - a "museum without walls" that includes musical performances, craft demonstrations, work traditions, community celebrations, foodways, and discussions of traditional and grass roots culture, both rural and urban.  It takes place between the U.S. Capital and Washington Monument; surrounded by the Smithsonian's national museums, during the July 4th holiday period. 

The Festival shows that culture is alive and provides a chance for participants to speak directly with Americans and international visitors and show them the artistry, wisdom, knowledge, and skills from their communities, families and work places. Some seventy nations, thirty U.S. states, and many regions of the world have been featured at the Festival over the years.

Festival participation provides a bridge between Festival visitors and the featured nation.  Media coverage is widespread, reaching tens of millions of Americans.  The Festival has had a strong impact in cultural education and in stimulating cultural tourism.  Festival programs have also led to other projects from exhibitions, documentary films, Smithsonian Folkways recordings, and Festival re-stagings "Back home."

We at the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage have had initial discussions with Ihor Poshyvailo of the National Center for Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum" (Kyiv), the Embassy of Ukraine in Washington, D.C., the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation, the Washington Group, the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council, and the National Union of Folk Art Masters of Ukraine.  We are confident that we can work productively with these partners and scholars, educators, musicians, artists, cultural exemplars, museums, universities, and cultural institutions in Ukraine to develop, research, and present a wonderful program.

Please let me know if your country would be interested in pursuing a partnership to present Ukraine's cultural traditions on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. We look forward to the possibility of working with your Administration, ministries and colleagues to present Ukraine in the heart of the nation's capital.

Best regards,

\s\

Stephen Kidd, Ph.D.
Acting Director
Smithsonian Folklife Festival