Natalie Taranec

Natalie Taranec  is a second generation Ukrainian born in Sydney, Australia.

Her parents immigrated to Australia in the late 1940’s. Natalka’s mother Raissa is from Rivne, and her father Mykola from Poltava region.

She had a lengthy association with Plast, and was a longtime member of the all-female bandura ensemble Lastivka. With the other members of the group she participated in a concert tour of Ukraine in 1994, which played in the various concert halls of  Kyiv, Ternopil, Rivne, Lutsk, Lviv.

With a background in the health system, Natalka is completing Bachelor studies in International Health, and a Diploma of Languages (Ukrainian). In 2003, she received the Arakadii Novicky Prize for proficiency in Ukrainian language. In 2005, she plans to travel to Ukraine as part of an exchange programme to study at the Ukrainian Kievo-Mohylianska Akademiya.Currently Natalka works for the Powerhouse Museum (an applied arts and science museum in Sydney) in Research and Evaluation. In the past, she has worked with the Ukrainian welfare sector to write a report on the migration and settlement experience of Ukrainian migrants. During the Olympics, Natalka was attached to the Georgian Olympic team, as a Team Assistant, which she enjoyed immensely. She currently also tutors newly arrived migrants in English. She now translates and writes articles for the UK published Ukrainian monthly magazine Obraz.

In her ‘spare’ time, she plays bandura at parties, thinks about art, and is interested in world cinema and literature.