Kule Folklore Centre at the U of A

𝗞𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗸𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗸 𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵

In June, the Kule Folklore Centre team travelled to Reykjavik, Iceland, to take part in one of the most significant events in the world of folklore studies — the biennial conference of the International Society for Folk Narrative Research (ISFNR). The four-day event, held at the University of Iceland, brought together hundreds of scholars from across the globe to explore this year’s theme: “Nature(s) in Narrative.” Iceland proved a fitting host for such a gathering — a country where attention to oral tradition, folklore, and the written word runs especially deep and whose breathtaking natural landscape inspired many meaningful discussions both during and between sessions.

The KuFC team organized two full panels, spanning three sessions and bringing together participants, both in-person and online, from across Europe and North America. Beyond the panels, coffee breaks, working group meetings, committee sessions, and cultural tours provided excellent opportunities to build new connections with scholars whose work intersects with the KuFC themes of narrating nature, Ukrainian folklore, and wartime ecocide. Attendees who stopped by the centre’s sessions learned more about our work, and many left with KuFC brochures and stickers. Local Ukrainian volunteers helping at the conference also noted, with cautious optimism, a growing interest in Ukrainian topics within Iceland’s academic and cultural scene, and the KuFC was honoured to contribute.

Learn more: uab.ca/Kule2026ISNR

Image 1: Iryna Koval-Fuchylo, Nataliia Yesypenko, Anna Olenenko, Oleksandr Pankieiev, Oksana Mykytenko, Tetiana Perga, Dmytro Yesypenko

Image 2: Participants of the panel "Narrating nature in times of war" — Dmytro Yesypenko, Ieva Garda-Rozenberga, Nadiia Popyk, Tetiana Perga, Zenia Kish, Anna Olenenko, Viktoria Naumenko, Oleksandr Pankieiev

When people think of archives, they often imagine administrative records, old photographs, or historical documents. Yet among the thousands of items preserved at the Bohdan Medwidsky Ukrainian Folklore Archives (BMUFA), there are also unexpected treasures that continue to surprise researchers.

One such treasure is a small portion of the archive of Ukrainian poet, literary scholar, and public intellectual Yar Slavutych, transferred to the BMUFA as part of the collections of the Ukrainian Canadian Archives and Museum of Alberta (UCAMA). Although it occupies only two archival boxes, its contents are extraordinary. The collection contains autographs, manuscripts, typescripts with authors’ corrections, and letters by prominent Ukrainian and Belarusian authors from the 1920s to the 1940s, including Valeriian Pidmohylny and Yevhen Pluzhnyk. Many of these writers were persecuted during the Soviet era, and only fragments of their personal archives have survived.

Another fascinating story concerns the artist Lev (Leon) Getz, one of the most important Ukrainian painters active in interwar Poland, who continued his artistic career after the Second World War. He faced considerable political and personal challenges throughout his life. Near the end, portions of his archive were entrusted to Harry (Hryhory) Yopyk, co-founder of UCAMA, and eventually became part of the BMUFA collections. Today, Getz’s archival legacy is dispersed across several countries and institutions, making every surviving document especially valuable. Recently, a researcher from the University of Warsaw, who has spent years studying Lev Getz and working with archival sources, learned that our Medwidsky Archives hold additional materials related to the artist. She described the discovery as “entirely new information” and “an important contribution to the existing body of knowledge about his life and work.”

Stories like these remind us that archives are much more than repositories of the past. They are places of discovery, where even a single archival box can reveal forgotten connections, preserve endangered cultural heritage, and open new paths for research.

𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Громадянка: Орган об'єднання Українських жінок на еміґрації (Citizeness: Publication of the Association of Ukrainian Women in Emigration)
𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿: Ukrainian Women’s Alliance in Germany
𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮: 1947–49
𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲: Ukrainian

𝘏𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘢 was a publication of the Association of Ukrainian Women in Germany, created to connect, inform, and empower Ukrainian women displaced as refugees after the Second World War.
Through articles, stories, and community updates the periodical helped its predominantly female émigré Ukrainian readership to preserve culture, support solidarity, and amplify women’s voices abroad.

One of the many highlights of May 29 and 30 was the warm, familiar energy that UFest always brings. At the Kule Folklore Centre tent, our volunteers welcomed festival-goers and shared news and views about our work, proudly based at the Centre.
For us particularly, one of UFest’s enduring joys is seeing people eager to learn about and connect with Ukrainian heritage and culture through dance, food, music, and stories. As always, some of the most memorable conversations this year were with visitors exploring their own family histories. The Kule Folklore Centre is pleased to share information about the resources and events that we offer to anyone who is interested in exploring Ukrainian culture and heritage.

It's the final day of UFest and we're waiting to see you at the Kule tent!

Kule is at UFest Edmonton Ukrainian Festival again this year. Make sure to check out the Kule things on display!

Фестиваль уже завтра! 🎉 See you this weekend!

𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Canadoon: A Ukrainian Canadian Journal of Humour
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: Iakiv Maidanyk
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝘀𝗲𝘂𝗱𝗼𝗻𝘆𝗺: Shtif Tabachniuk
𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆: Winnipeg
𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Monthly; 28 cm
𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲: Ukrainian, English

Ukrainian Canadian humour isn’t just about laughs—it’s a powerful way that communities used, complementing other established social and folkloric practices, to preserve identity, language, and culture across generations (1910s–1980s).
From witty satire to bittersweet irony, humour reflected everyday immigrant experiences while adapting to life in Canada. Sharp, emotional, and self-aware—yet never cruel—it remains a lasting expression of Ukrainians’ resilience and cultural pride.

𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Визначне жіноцтво України : історичні життєписи у чотирьох частинах (The Famous Women of Ukraine: Historical Biographies)
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: Alexander Luhowy
𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿: Toronto, Ukrainian Publishing Company, 1942
𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 251 pages ; 21 cm
𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁: Part 1. Women of the princely and state era Part 2. Women of Cossack Ukraine Part 3. Women writers and artists Part 4. Cultural, public and national figures
𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲: Ukrainian

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘜𝘬𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦: 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘉𝘪𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘴 is a fascinating and revealing collection of biographical portraits celebrating outstanding Ukrainian women.

Spanning centuries of history, the book highlights their achievements, resilience, and contributions to culture, society, and national life in Ukraine and far beyond its borders—bringing forward stories that continue to inspire today.

Ukrainian Museum of Canada, Alberta Branch invites you, your family, friends, and colleagues to attend our new exhibit, “Repression, Resistance and Nationhood: Ukrainian Nation-Building – A Historical Representation”. The exhibit opens Friday May 22nd at 7 pm and continues Saturday May 23rd and Sunday May 24th in St. John’s Cultural Centre. Please see the attached poster.

The exhibit showcases milestones in Ukrainian history including the founding of Kyiv, Kyivan Rus, the Halych-Volyn Principality and Kingdom, the Ukrainian Cossack Hetmanate, the 1917-21 Ukrainian War of Independence, Independent Ukraine and its people’s courageous fight against the Kremlin’s current military invasion of Ukraine.

The entire opening weekend also includes the travelling exhibit “'...And They Will Rise in Glory and Power': Destroyed Temples of Ukraine" courtesy of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies.

Most of the exhibit’s displays will continue to be viewable in the museum gallery from May 25th until late December 2026 and in the foyer of St. John's Cultural Centre until mid-November 2026.

While many artifacts are on loan from various museum collections, over 100 artifacts were generously lent by Basilian Fathers Museum in Mundare. In addition to those artifacts from Ukrainian Museum of Canada (Alberta Branch), others are borrowed from the Ukrainian Women’s Organization of Canada, Peter and Doris Kule Centre for Ukrainian and Canadian Folklore (Bohdan Medwidsky Ukrainian Folklore Archives), UCWLC Edmonton Eparchy Museum, Ukrainian National Federation, and Vadym Obertas.