Concerts, dance, poetry, workshops, books, community initiatives and food from around the world. On 22 August, Ruska 46 and Podwórko Neonów became a meeting place for nearly 1,000 people. This year’s “Home Edition” of SKOVORODA FEST once again showed how different languages, cultures and personal stories can come together in one shared city space.
Since 2020, SKOVORODA FEST has been bringing together people from across Wrocław around multiculturalism, solidarity and dialogue. The festival is inspired by the values associated with Hryhorii Skovoroda: freedom, mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and community.
Held each August around Ukraine’s Independence Day, the festival also presents contemporary Ukrainian culture as an important part of multicultural Wrocław.
This year, SKOVORODA FEST returned to Ruska 46, where the very first edition was held. The “Home Edition” format brought the festival across several neighbouring spaces, including Podwórko Neonów, the Ukrainian Center for Culture and Development, and Recepcja, with different parts of the programme taking place simultaneously throughout the day.
Ruska 46 filled with music
The stage at Podwórko Neonów was the heart of the festival.
The programme opened with performances by the youngest dancers from People Dance Studio and the Ukrainian children’s choir Kapusta Band. Later in the afternoon, the audience saw a performative poetry reading by Teatr GAS, a performance by the Wrocław-based vocal group Spievanochki, which operates under the To The Future Foundation, and Romani dance performed by the intergenerational group Cykne cierchenia – Małe gwiazdeczki.
As the evening went on, the programme shifted between different genres and moods. Guchno Comedy brought live comedy to the stage, followed by Viktoria Litvinchuk, a soloist with PRIME Orchestra and a finalist of “The Voice of Ukraine” and “The Voice Kids”.
The festival closed with concerts by SVAT and Wymyrajuci Wydy / VMVD. SVAT brought together Ukrainian and Polish musical influences, while Wymyrajuci Wydy / VMVD finished the night with a more powerful mix of rock, funk and folk.
Throughout the day, DJ Lab-Tested kept the atmosphere going across Podwórko Neonów.
A festival to take part in, not just watch
SKOVORODA FEST was about much more than simply watching the stage programme.
At CUKR, Laboratorium DAMA hosted a theatre and dance workshop led by Daria Arabadżi and Mara K (Maria Romaniukha). Participants worked with movement, voice, rhythm and space, exploring different forms of expression together.
The poetry slam hosted by Illya Tandur, the 2025 Polish Poetry Slam Champion, also drew strong interest. Participants had three minutes to perform their own texts live, while the audience decided who would move on to the next rounds.
It was one of the most direct and engaging parts of the festival: a performer, a text, a stage and an audience responding in real time.
Podwórko Neonów also hosted the Mikro-zmiany Workshop by IP Studio. Visitors could join creative activities centred on place, neighbourhood and relationships between people, and leave their own contribution in the shared space.
From the book fair to flight simulators
The CUKR workshop room became a space for literature lovers thanks to a programme prepared by the Miłość i Gniew Foundation.
The book fair featured more than 300 books in Polish, Ukrainian and English, alongside literary charades, a quiz for children and book dating, where participants could meet through conversations about books and favourite authors.
Recepcja, meanwhile, became a space for books and handmade crafts, with local artists and makers presenting their work.
There was plenty happening in the organisations and partners zone too. Visitors could learn more about the work of Foreign Front, the PTACH Foundation, TAK MED and IVANCOM.
They could try drone simulators, help weave camouflage nets, learn the basics of first aid, and take part in quizzes and interactive activities.
MPWiK Wrocław and the #PijKranówkę initiative also joined this year’s programme.
Many cultures, many flavours
The multicultural side of the festival was something visitors could not only see and hear, but also taste.
The food zone brought together flavours inspired by Ukrainian, Polish, Uzbek and Syrian cuisine, creating another natural meeting point between concerts, workshops and other activities.
It was this mix of music, culture, community initiatives, family activities and informal encounters that best captured the spirit of this year’s edition.
For one day, Ruska 46 and Podwórko Neonów were filled with different languages, cultures and stories. But above all, they were filled with people: nearly 1,000 guests who came to the festival and helped create its atmosphere.
“We wanted different languages, generations, cultures and the stories of people who shape today’s Wrocław to meet here on this day,” said Krystyna Shapovalova, Director of the Ukrainian Center for Culture and Development, ahead of the event.
This year’s edition showed that this is exactly what happened.
Thank you for creating this atmosphere with us!
SKOVORODA FEST was made possible by the involvement of many people: artists and performers, civil society organisations, exhibitors, volunteers, partners, and the teams of Fundacja Ukraina and the Ukrainian Center for Culture and Development.
Each of them contributed something to the programme, the space and the atmosphere we created together.
A special thank you goes to everyone who joined us on the day. Thank you for being there, for your openness, your conversations and the energy you brought with you.
That is what made SKOVORODA FEST such a special meeting place.
📸 If you would like to return to the atmosphere of this year’s festival for a little longer, take a look at our photo gallery. It captures many moments that are difficult to put into words.
See you at SKOVORODA FEST 2027! 💛
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The festival is organised by Fundacja Ukraina and the Ukrainian Center for Culture and Development. The main sponsors of the event are Grupa Impel and the Marshal’s Office of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. The festival is sponsored by the transport company IVANCOM. Event partners include Stage Service, Recepcja and Surowiec.
The event was held under the Honorary Patronage of the Marshal of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, the Honorary Patronage of the Lower Silesian Voivode and the Honorary Patronage of the Mayor of Wrocław. It was also co-financed by the Municipality of Wrocław, www.wroclaw.pl.
Photo: Sonia Kuchanska, Viktoria Kushnirenko
