Ihor Poshyvailo

Fulbright Scholar at the Smithsonian Center for Folklore and Cultural Heritage, Washington, DC. Project “Interpretation of Cultural Heritage in Museums: An American Experience for Ukrainian Practice”. Duration: September 2009 – June 2010.

Born 1967 in Poltava in a family of famous folk potters from the town of Opishne. Ethnologist, PhD (1998, Institute of Art Studies, Folklore and Ethnology, National Academy of Sciences). Deputy Director, National Center of Folk Culture “Ivan Honchar Museum” (Kyiv), Chairman of the Kyiv Regional Branch of the National Union of Folk Art Masters, Founding board member of the Ivan Honchar Foundation, Expert of the State Art Commission of the Ukrainian Ministry for Culture, member of editorial board of the Folk Art and Ukrainian Ceramology magazines. Expert of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Author of the award-winning book “Phenomenology of Pottery (semiotic and ethnological aspects), 2000; as well as numerous articles on the problems of traditional art and culture, ecology of traditional cultural environment, problems of cultural heritage preservation in a variety of publications including Folk ArtMagazine, Fine Arts Magazine, Artania Magazine, Ukrainian Ceramology Magazine, Folk Creativity and Ethnology Magazine, Ukrainian Ceramology Annual Collection Book, Welcome to Ukraine Magazine, Eastern Review (Lodz, Poland). Essays in books including Ukrainians: historic-ethnographic monograph in two volumes (1999), Symbol, Myths and Ritual (2000), Materials to Ukrainian Ethnology (2002), Ukrainian Embroidered Ritual Towels (2003), Museology in Ukraine (2004), Tradition and Culture (2005), Ukraine and Ukrainians: historic-ethnographical art album of Ivan Honchar (2006-2009). Editor and compiler of the Ukraine and Ukrainians: historic-ethnographical art album of Ivan Honchar (in 10 volumes)

Curator and participant of research expeditions to Great Britain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany and France in 1992, 1994. Head and participant of a number of international projects on safeguarding folk arts and crafts in Ukraine and promotion of international cooperation in the field of traditional culture. Participant of international conferences including the European Council’s Conference on national identity (Hungary, 2001), UNESCO’s Conference on Proclamation of Masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage (Hungary, 2002), Conference of the EU Culture-2000 Program (Hungary, 2004), 4 Regional Museum Conference (Romania, 2008), World Symposium on Traditional Arts and Culture (Turkey, 2009). Co-moderator and co-organizer of the Museum management seminars in Ukraine provided by the Fund for Arts and Culture in Central and Eastern Europe (USA) and the US Embassy in Ukraine. Participant of the International Visitor Program (USA, 2004), Global Youth Exchange Program (Japan, 2004) and The World Master’s Festival in Arts and Culture (Korea, 2007).

Holder of the International Charitable Fund “Ukraine-3000” Scholarship (2005–2006) and Honorable Man of Arts Title (2008).