On July 6, the Embassy of Ukraine in the USA, in partnership with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the Ukraine House in Washington D.C., was honored to host the Ukrainian folk groups and singers – the participants of the 2023 Smithsonian Folk Festival - “Bozhychi,”“Shchuka-Ryba,”Maria Kvitka, Katya Chilly, Suzanna Karpenko and bandura player Yaroslav Dzhus.

The concert’s name - “De Libertate: Songs of Freedom and Hope from Ukraine” - had a special meaning to all present. Titled after the famous poem by Ukrainian philosopher Hryhoriy Skovoroda “De Libertate,” it reminded of the value of individual freedom and liberty.

We are deeply thankful to Dr. Richard Kurin, Ambassador at Large at the Smithsonian Institute, and Dr. Ihor Poshyvailo, Director General of the Maidan Museum in Kyiv, for their invaluable efforts in making the concert possible. Our deepest thanks to all Ukrainian performers for their voices of resistance and their role as Ukrainian cultural diplomats.