Among the artists finding shelter in this country were members of the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra, which was rehearsing at the Witold Lutosławski Polish Radio Concert Hall, ahead of its European tour.
Poland also played host to Academic Orchestra from Kharkiv, National Song and Dance Ensemble from Kyiv, as well as the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, which began rehearsals in the run-up to its worldwide tour in Warsaw in July.
The 10-day residency was financed by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Piotr Gliński.
The tour is a joint project by the Polish National Opera and the Metropolitan Opera in New York, officials told reporters.
Poland supports over 100 Ukrainian cultural institutions
In early April, representatives of Polish museums established the Committee for Aid to Museums of Ukraine, aimed at supporting, among others, all Ukrainian museums and cultural institutions in securing their collections, the most valuable pieces of art and monuments of Ukrainian culture.
The Commitee also helps Ukraine’s cultural institutions digitise and inventory their collections, according to officials.
Meanwhile, Poland’s National Institute of Heritage (NID) has established a special Aid Centre for Culture in Ukraine, which is also geared towards rescuing works of art in the war-hit country.
Poland is now actively engaged in helping over 100 institutions of culture in Ukraine, providing a range of products necessary to protect their collections, from fire extinguishers to fire blankets and mineral wool, as well as offering to provide warehouse space if Ukraine decided to evacuate its works of art.
Poland has also earmarked over EUR 1 million for the support of Ukrainian artists, from accommodation to legal aid to scholarships, officials said.
Click on the audio player above for a report by Radio Poland’s Agnieszka Bielawska.