Mariana Ilkiv at Lisinski is preparing a charity concert that brings Zagreb an evening of Ukrainian culture and solidarity

Gospić artist Mariana Ilkiv prepares a charity concert at Lisinski: an evening of Ukrainian culture, remembrance, and solidarity in Zagreb

The Small Hall of the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall in Zagreb is expected to become, on March 30, 2026, a place where music, poetry, and tradition will turn into a powerful public message of solidarity with Ukraine. The charity concert, announced for 7:30 PM, is conceived as a programmatically rounded evening that brings Ukrainian cultural heritage closer to the Croatian audience, but also the experience of a people who have lived for years under the burden of war, displacement, and uncertainty. At the center of the event will be the verses of Taras Shevchenko and melodies deeply inscribed in the collective memory of Ukrainians, including the famous “Chervona ruta,” a song that is still perceived today as one of the symbols of Ukrainian identity. In this way, the concert goes beyond the framework of a usual musical performance: it is a cultural and humanitarian gathering, an evening that simultaneously preserves memory, affirms belonging, and opens space for togetherness. For many visitors who will come to Zagreb from other parts of Croatia, especially from Lika, practical information about accommodation in Zagreb will also be important, as the arrival of an audience that has been following Mariana Ilkiv’s work for a long time is expected.

An artist who from Gospić builds a bridge between Ukraine and Croatia

A special stamp on the entire event is given by Mariana Ilkiv, an artist of Ukrainian origin who in recent years has become a recognizable name in cultural life in Gospić and beyond. Her public work in Croatia did not remain only at concert performances, but developed into a broader cultural and social engagement connecting two countries and two audiences. In the local public, she has already been recognized as a performer and vocal mentor, and her work has been further strengthened by the opening of the ILKIV music creation in Gospić, through which she works with young people and passes on experience gained on the professional stage. Precisely for this reason, this concert at Lisinski also carries symbolic weight: it is a performance by an artist who has turned her personal life and professional story into a lasting cultural dialogue between her homeland and the environment in which she lives and creates today. In that sense, Lisinski is not a random choice of stage, but a logical step toward an audience that expects a serious, representative, and emotionally powerful program.

The concert will also mark the 20th anniversary of Mariana Ilkiv’s solo career. Such a jubilee in itself represents an important professional moment, but in this case it also gains an additional dimension because not only the duration of one career is being celebrated, but also the continuity of artistic work marked by dedication to Ukrainian song, cultural heritage, and public engagement. Her presence in Gospić already has the meaning of a local success story for part of the audience from Lika-Senj County, while for the wider Zagreb audience this performance will be an opportunity to get to know an artist who has imposed herself as one of the most visible voices of Ukrainian cultural presence in Croatia. Visitors planning to come from other cities are already looking for accommodation near the event venue, which further shows that the concert goes beyond the boundaries of a classic local cultural news story.

A program that combines poetry, popular music, and traditional heritage

According to the available announcements, the evening is designed as a musical journey through different layers of Ukrainian culture. Taras Shevchenko, whose verses will have an important place in the program, has long been considered a key figure of Ukrainian literature and national cultural memory. His name in the Ukrainian context signifies not only a poet but also a symbol of the struggle for the dignity of language, culture, and national self-awareness. The inclusion of Shevchenko’s verses in a charity concert therefore carries a multiple message: it reminds of the deep historical roots of Ukrainian culture, but at the same time also of the fact that the contemporary struggle to preserve identity is also waged in the field of language, memory, and art. For the audience in Croatia, such a program opens space to view Ukraine not only through daily political news and war reports, but also through its literature, music, and customs.

An equally important element of the program will be “Chervona ruta,” a composition by Volodymyr Ivasiuk that in Ukrainian culture has almost the status of a widely known musical symbol. That song has lived for decades as a combination of popular melody, folkloric imagination, and cultural memory, and its presence in the charity concert points to the organizers’ intention to present Ukraine in the fullness of its emotional and historical experience. In such a concept, not only one performer appears, but an entire tradition. The audience will thus receive a program that does not remain within one musical color, but combines poetic text, popular song, folkloric spirit, and contemporary stage interpretation. It is precisely this breadth that may be one of the reasons why some visitors from outside Zagreb will decide to combine attending the concert with a short stay, so information about accommodation offers in Zagreb will be useful to them.

Collaborators on stage and the message of a joint performance

An important support of the concert will be the performers who share with Mariana Ilkiv a long-standing collaboration and a similar view of cultural exchange between Croatia and Ukraine. Among them, the tamburitza ensemble “Divne Godine” stands out in particular, with which Mariana has already been associated through successful performances and notable work on combining musical traditions. It is precisely this collaboration that in this program may have additional value because the tamburitza sound, deeply rooted in the Croatian musical space, gains a new dimension in encounter with the Ukrainian repertoire. This is also a clear sign that the concert is not conceived as a closed event intended only for the Ukrainian community, but as an open cultural evening in which two traditions do not compete, but complement each other.

Members of the Ukrainian cultural and educational society “Ukrajina” from Slavonski Brod will also be on stage, a community that has been working for decades on preserving the Ukrainian language, customs, and cultural heritage in Croatia. Their presence is precisely what gives the concert additional social weight because it shows that Ukrainian cultural presence in Croatia is not a novelty created only after the Russian invasion in 2022, but has its deeper roots and continuity. This society has long gathered members of different generations, and its folklore and cultural programs testify to how identity can be preserved even far from the homeland. In that context, the concert at Lisinski also acts as a broader public confirmation of the work of a community that has built its space patiently, through associations, performances, religious and social life, and mutual solidarity.

Particular attention is also drawn by the inclusion of young participants of the ILKIV music creation. Their performance will not be merely an occasional addition to the program, but an important message about the transfer of knowledge and values to a new generation. At a time when cultural identities often become vulnerable under the pressure of migration, wars, and accelerated social changes, every inclusion of young people in an artistic program of this kind carries additional weight. This shows that culture is not only a space of memory, but also of the future. Young performers on the Lisinski stage will represent continuity, and the audience will be able to see how the artistic and cultural work of one mentor flows into a new generation of musicians.

Vyshyvanka as a sign of identity, belonging, and continuity

The central visual and symbolic motif of the event will also be Ukrainian embroidered shirts, known as vyshyvankas. The announced collection of the “Svit Vyshyvanky” store from Ukraine will further emphasize that identity is preserved not only through music and poetry, but also through traditional clothing. The vyshyvanka in Ukrainian culture is not an ordinary garment. It has family, regional, and symbolic meaning, often carries motifs characteristic of a particular region, and in contemporary circumstances has also become a strong sign of cultural resistance and national belonging. By including these shirts in the concert program, the organizers clearly state that this is a comprehensive presentation of Ukrainian heritage, and not only a musical evening with a humanitarian prefix.

For the Croatian audience, this opens an additional layer of understanding as well. Instead of observing Ukraine only as a country affected by war, the concert at Lisinski wants to present it as a community with a deep and living culture, with a tradition transmitted through language, song, embroidery, colors, and stage performance. This is especially important in the public space in which news about Ukraine has for years predominantly arrived through war reports. Such an event enables a different view: one in which it is seen how culture survives, how it is transmitted, and how it becomes a form of public resilience. Therein also lies one of the greatest values of this event.

The humanitarian dimension of the concert at a moment when the war continues and the needs do not stop

The humanitarian character of the concert carries special weight at a moment when the war in Ukraine is still ongoing, and millions of displaced people still need institutional and social support. European institutions confirmed during 2025 the continuation of temporary protection for displaced persons from Ukraine until March 4, 2027, which clearly shows that the consequences of the war are not viewed as a short-term crisis, but as a long-term humanitarian and social reality. Data from international organizations continue to speak of millions of people who are outside their homes, either within Ukraine itself or in other European states. In such a context, every event that combines public visibility, cultural dignity, and concrete help gains additional meaning.

This is precisely why Mariana Ilkiv’s concert is not only cultural news, but also a social gesture. Humanitarian programs are often strongest when they are not based exclusively on an appeal for help, but also on the affirmation of the people who need that help. What is offered here is not the image of a voiceless victim, but of a community that sings, remembers, creates, and calls for solidarity. Such an approach can have a stronger effect on the audience because it does not provoke only pity, but also respect. Therein lies the distinctiveness of the evening announced for the end of March: it speaks of pain, but through dignity; of loss, but through art; of the need for help, but without renouncing cultural pride.

Patronage and the political message of the event

Additional institutional importance is given to the concert by the fact that it is being held under the high patronage of the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Croatia and with the support of the City of Zagreb. Such patronage in practice means that the event also has a broader diplomatic and public dimension. It is not only a locally organized concert, but an event that fits into the broader framework of Croatian-Ukrainian relations, support for the Ukrainian community in Croatia, and public expression of solidarity in the European context. Zagreb thus once again confirms its status as a city in which cultural institutions do not close themselves within a narrow artistic framework, but become places of encounter between communities, ideas, and public messages.

For the Embassy of Ukraine in Croatia, such an event has multiple meanings. On the one hand, it is a presentation of national culture in one of the most important Croatian concert halls. On the other hand, it is a public gathering of the community and friends of Ukraine in the host country. For the City of Zagreb, support for such a program simultaneously means support for cultural diversity, humanitarian action, and international solidarity. At a time when cultural and political messages are often separate, such an event shows that art and public support can act together, without losing their own integrity.

Why the concert could have a broader resonance than one evening

The evening at Lisinski has the potential to leave an impression even beyond the very time of its holding. The reason is not only Mariana Ilkiv’s jubilee nor the representative stage, but the fact that the concert gathers several levels of meaning at once. It is simultaneously a cultural event, a humanitarian action, a personal anniversary, a public testimony to the endurance of the Ukrainian community, and a sign of Croatian-Ukrainian friendship. Such multilayeredness is not common, and it is precisely this that gives particular weight to the entire announcement. In a society that in recent years has been exposed daily to news about crises, wars, and divisions, an evening that succeeds in combining artistic quality and social meaning has a real chance of remaining memorable.

For Gospić and Lika-Senj County, the concert is also a story about a fellow citizen who has brought her work to one of the most important Croatian cultural stages. For the Zagreb audience, it is an opportunity to get to know, in the representative ambiance of Lisinski, a deeper, more complex, and more human image of Ukraine. For the Ukrainian community in Croatia, it is a public confirmation that its culture is not on the margins. And for all who will come to Zagreb on March 30, whether out of curiosity, support, or a personal connection with the story, this evening will probably be more than a concert: it will be an encounter with a culture that does not give up, with art that connects, and with the message that solidarity has the most meaning when it comes together with respect.

Sources:

• - Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall – official hall pages and event calendar, with basic information about the program and location (link)
• - Lisinski Events – official overview of current and announced programs in the hall (link)
• - Lika Online – article about Mariana Ilkiv and her life and work in Gospić, including a public presentation in an HRT program (link)
• - Lika-Senj County – publication about awards and the public work of Mariana Ilkiv in Croatia (link)
• - Lumino – report on the opening of ILKIV music creation in Gospić and the work with young musicians (link)
• - Ukrainian Community of the Republic of Croatia – information on the activities of UKPD “Ukrajina” Slavonski Brod and the preservation of Ukrainian heritage in Croatia (link)
• - Glas Slavonije – a more recent report on the work of UKPD “Ukrajina” Slavonski Brod and the society’s humanitarian activity (link)
• - Svit Vyshyvanky – official website of the brand/store with a display of vyshyvankas and a description of the traditional product (link)
• - Encyclopedia of Ukraine – biographical and cultural context of Taras Shevchenko as a central figure of Ukrainian literature and identity (link)
• - Encyclopaedia Britannica – additional overview of the life and significance of Taras Shevchenko in Ukrainian history and culture (link)
• - Consilium, Council of the European Union – decision of the member states on extending temporary protection for displaced persons from Ukraine until March 4, 2027 (link)
• - UNHCR, Ukraine Refugee Situation – current overview of the situation of displaced persons and humanitarian needs related to the war in Ukraine (link)