10/06/2025
On October 3, the Kule Folklore Centre welcomed world-renowned Canadian artist Natalka Husar!
As a child of Ukrainian immigrants, Natalka Husar has long explored themes of identity, displacement, and cultural memory in her work.
The evening centred around an extraordinary new book, “It Takes Three to Tango: The True Story of a Fictitious Romance in the Correspondence of Ivan Ostafiichuk and Natalka Husar” (translated title of the original, Ukrainian-language Tanho dlia tr'okh), compiled by Lidiia Lykhach and published in Ukraine by Rodovid. Husar shared the remarkable story of how she and Lviv artist Ivan Ostafiichuk pretended to be lovers in letters they exchanged over eight years to convince the KGB of their romance—so that Ivan could escape the oppressive Soviet regime.
As author of the book’s introduction, Dr. Natalia Khanenko-Friesen, Professor and Huculak Chair of Ukrainian Culture and Ethnography in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies and director of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Alberta, participated in the event, highlighting the complex culture of letter writing during those times.
The evening was moderated by Dr. Oleksandr Pankieiev, director of the Kule Folklore Centre and Associate Professor and Kule Chair of Ukrainian Culture and Ethnography in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, Faculty of Arts, at the University of Alberta.
For the Kule Folklore Centre, the significance of hosting such an event lies in the mission of its Bohdan Medwidsky Ukrainian Folklore Archives, which preserve countless letters—for the most part comprising correspondence between Ukrainians in Canada and their loved ones in Soviet Ukraine. These letters provide a powerful glimpse into everyday life under strict control and the enduring strength of human connection.
We are deeply grateful to Natalka Husar for sharing her story and reflections on how personal correspondence and creativity can transcend borders and censorship, revealing a fascinating aspect of the true impact of letters across generations.
