Aroma of Memory with the Flavour of Nostalgia: Modern Theme-based Restaurants and Galicia Branding

Is it possible to create an image of Ukrainian cultural heritage and Ukrainian history that would be both attractive and acceptable for the broad public in Ukraine and far beyond? In Galicia, branding of Ukrainian cultural acquisitions was quite successful, even though not without problems. Cultural peculiarity of the "most Ukrainian, and the least Soviet" region is mostly presented as the combination of Ukrainianism, Europeanism, and a typically local flavour tending to impose the myth of Galicia. The lecturer talked about one of the local initiatives, such as theme-based restaurants. The listeners were offered a story about commercial use of collective memory about some groups of population in Galicia, such as Poles, Jews, and Austrians, as opposed to mono-cultural perceptions about the past events of the region.

Lecture was held as a part of the lecture and discussion program of the cultural forum "PogranKult: GaliciaKult" and supported by the International Renaissance Foundation.

Credits

Сover Image: Restaurant "Kryivka"