Representatives of the regional state administration’s Department of Culture and Tourism and specialists from the Donetsk Regional Educational and Methodological Center for Culture attended the presentation of the traveling banner exhibition “Taste of Home,” dedicated to preserving the culinary heritage of residents of the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
The exhibition’s first presentation took place in the town of Vyshneve in the Kyiv region, marking the start of its tour. The exhibition will then travel to the cities of Dnipro, Kamianske, and Pavlohrad. The display features photographs of culinary heritage and documented stories from people for whom traditional dishes have become a means of preserving their own identity.
During the fieldwork phase, specialists from the regional educational and methodological center, together with a team of researchers, conducted in-depth interviews with custodians of this heritage and documented living culture. The collected materials formed the basis of the aforementioned exhibition, revealing the significance of familiar family dishes for people who have lost their homes due to military aggression. The research documented the close intertwining of Ukrainian, Greek, Romani, Bulgarian, and Moldovan traditions in borderland communities.
The exhibition was the culmination of the painstaking research project “On the Edge of Flavors,” conducted as part of the “Culinary Practices of the Borderlands: A Dialogue of Cultures” initiative. The focus is on the intangible cultural heritage of nine steppe communities in the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions. The exhibition creates a space for communication between displaced persons and host communities through family traditions, culinary heritage, and memories.
The project was implemented by the non-governmental organization “Center for Innovative Development ‘Persona’” and the Avdiivka-based non-governmental organization “Power of Ideas” as part of the “Heritage. Space for Work,” with support from the “Partnership for a Strong Ukraine” Program, funded by the governments of the United Kingdom, Estonia, Canada, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, and Sweden.