This vibrant three-day festival is part of the Eastern Culture project, showcasing eight concerts, 25 projects, and 55 artistic events featuring 150 artists across disciplines including music, dance, visual arts and theater.
The event is organized by the National Centre for Culture in collaboration with the Polish cities of Rzeszów, Lublin and Białystok.
At the opening concert, Poland's Kasia Lins will perform with Belarusian singer Palina, Tomek Makowiecki with Ukrainian pianist Lubomyr Melnyk, L.U.C. & Rebel Babel Ensemble with the Ukrainian band Antytila, and Paweł Domagała with Gizmo Varillas from Spain.
"The intersection of Polish and Eastern cultures has always been and remains the most important idea," said Rzeszów Mayor Konrad Fijołek.
He added: "These duets of Polish and Eastern artists during the Rzeszów concert are extremely valuable. The history of the war and the flight of thousands of people from Ukraine has shown how important these cultural connections are. We have been collaborating for many years, and our cultures mutually permeate and get to know each other."
During the concert, in reference to the ongoing more than two-year-old war in Ukraine, a "Stop War" installation prepared by the artistic collective Art Color Ballet will be shown, combining body painting, live music and dance.
Over 50 free artistic events providing entertainment in music, dance and visual arts are planned at various venues throughout the city.
On the last weekend of June, the festival will move to the eastern city of Lublin and then to Białystok in the northeast.
In each of the three festival cities, there will be a joint debate under the main theme "Tradition," which will be aired live by public broadcaster Polish Radio.
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Source: IAR, dzieje.pl, trojka.polskieradio.pl