This year, the literary and art festival was held for the 11th time; as usual, it was held at a clearing not far from the birthplace and childhood home of the outstanding author, critic, historian, ethnographer, folklorist, translator, and public figure Panteleimon Kulish. Besides listening to recitals of excerpts from prose works and letters written by him and his wife Hanna Barvinok (Oleksandra Bilozerska), the assembled had the opportunity to listen to and watch performances by local artists and bands. These included the Dzhereltse folk dance ensemble, sponsored by Shostka Center of Aesthetic Education. A whole block of the program was offered by folk song bands: the Verbychenka people’s group from Hrechyntsi Village House of Culture, Krolevets raion; the Krynychenka people’s folk song band from Myronivka Village House of Culture, and the Vyshyvanka folk song band from Shevchenkove Village Club. Such practice, emphasizing local bands’ contribution as opposed to that of visiting artists, allows locals to be active participants in the event rather than mere spectators.
This year’s Kulish Readings invited guests from Kyiv as well: the “Art Voyages” cultural project and delegation of the capital’s NGO “Fraternity of Sumy Region” which donated to the Tolstoy Central Library in Shostka books of prose and poetry (by the way, a Kulish museum has been working on the library’s premises since 2006). The participants of “Art Voyages” performed at the readings (where improvisational pianist, poet, and radio presenter Roman Koliada impressed the public with electronic-folk compositions) and then met with mayor of Shostka Mykola Noha. At the meeting, they proposed a number of measures that would promote the memory of Kulish among residents of the city and revive interest in his life and creative legacy. In particular, artists and sculptors from the Fraternity delegation have advised the mayor to hold a competition for the design of a monument to the outstanding classic author, because, unfortunately, a giant statue of Lenin still stands in front of the city administration. It occupies the place logically destined for a monument to Kulish, one of the forerunners of the Ukrainian statehood...
