ARE YOU COMING TO THE VATRA?
LEMKOS. BOYKOS. HUTSULS. RUSYNS. RUSNAKS. RUTHENIANS. SUBCARPATHIAN. TRANSCARPATHIAN. CARPATHO-RUSYN. UHRO-RUSYN. JUST RUSYN. HALF RUSYN. QUARTER RUSYN. RUSYN BUT YOU DIDN'T KNOW IT HAD A NAME. RUSYN AND YOUR FAMILY SAYS SLOVAK. RUSYN AND YOUR FAMILY SAYS UKRAINIAN. RUSYN AND YOUR FAMILY SAYS POLISH. RUSYN BUT YOUR FAMILY SAYS NOTHING. RUSYN BUT THE CHURCH SWITCHED TO ENGLISH BEFORE YOU WERE BORN. RUSYN ON YOUR MOM'S SIDE. RUSYN AND SOMETHING ELSE. RUSYN BUT YOUR LAST NAME'S ITALIAN. OR, IF YOU ARE NOT RUSYN AT ALL—IF YOU ARE GREEK. EGYPTIAN. KOREAN. MEXICAN. IRISH. DOMINICAN. SENEGALESE. FILIPINO. ROMANI. INDIGENOUS. IF YOU'RE AN ADOPTEE. IF YOUR GRANDMA'S SLANG SITS FOREIGN IN YOUR MOUTH, AND YOU'VE NEVER BEEN TO THE PLACE HER MOTHER FELL IN LOVE, BUT YOU'VE HEARD THE STORIES, AND YOU HOPE YOU CAN AFFORD TO VISIT SOMEDAY. OR IF YOU JUST WANT TO SIT WITH PEOPLE, REAL PEOPLE, AND LEARN SOMETHING, AND SING—
YOU ARE INVITED TO SOMETHING DREAMED UP BY A QUEER DIASPORIOD—THE GRANDCHILD OF COAL MINERS AND UNION LEADERS, A QUEENS TRANSPLANT—SOMETHING ENGINEERED AROUND THE IMPOSSIBLE:
A VATRA [BONFIRE] in NEW YORK CITY.
WHAT'S A VATRA?
In 1983, Lemko activists in the Carpathian mountains built a bonfire and gathered around it. They sang, danced, and celebrated the culture others had fought to erase. This was the first official Vatra, held thirty-six years after Operation Vistula scattered them across the broader central and eastern european area. Today, Carpatho-Rusyn and Lemko organizations hold Vatras in Europe and North America, keeping that practice alive. Vatra Diaspora is one artist's independent effort to continue the tradition in Queens, New York.
WHAT INSPIRED VATRA DIASPORA?
Because NYC law prohibits open flames in public spaces, Vatra Diaspora creates its bonfire using projection mapping and fan-blown fabric. That constraint inspired the concept: diaspora communities can never recreate homeland in its exact, original form…so, why should that be our goal? What would happen if we built something honest using what we have, where we are?
Adaptation is not failed imitation. Culture is not a nebulous concept in a museum where you're not allowed to touch anything; it's what you do—every day, once a year—with your community. It's how we live, together.
WHO'S ORGANIZING VATRA DIASPORA?
An independent artist called Medusa. Originally from Pittston, Pennsylvania, Medusa first relocated to New York City in 2014. They now reside in Astoria, Queens.
Medusa's family tree has several Rusyn roots. Most notably: their great-grandfather was John Shipula, son of Antoni Szypuła and Rozalia (neé Dnitrich) Szypuła / Шыпуля / Шипула—both of Wola Sękowa / Воля Сенкова / Volya Senkova, which their families had called home since at least the 1700s.
John served as President of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Local 7519 for 20 years, protecting fellow “hunky” workers in the same mines which took his father Antoni's life. He also served as the president of the Ukrainian National League of Luzerne County, a conglomerate of 56 Ukrainian organizations, and as officer in several mutual aid organizations serving the Ruthenian-American community, including the Friendship Club and the Wyoming Valley United Fund.
While Medusa's direct ancestors did not suffer ethnic cleansing through Operation Vistula, their family and others remaining in Volya Sen'kova did.
Vatra Diaspora is the project of one independent artist (Medusa) and is not presently affiliated with any Lemko or Carpatho-Rusyn organization. It exists not in competition with but as a regional supplement to existing Vatras. Medusa extends their deference and gratitude to the organizations whose work inspired the event—for their labor, their power, and their precedent—and invites participation and attendance by all affiliations!
Do you want to tell a story at the Vatra Diaspora? Do you have something you want to share about the Lemko experience? Drop Medusa a line using the contact page.
COME SIT AROUND A FIRE THAT ISN'T REAL AND SING SOMEONE ELSE'S SONGS. UNTIL THEY'RE YOURS, OURS, LED BY SOMEONE WHO KNOWS NOTHING* BUT IS TRYING TO LEARN, TOO. THE VATRA IS NOT A MUSEUM. THE VATRA IS NOT A MEMORIAL. YOU ARE HERE NOW, WE ARE ALIVE TODAY—COME BE ALIVE TOGETHER. THE VATRA PRESERVES NOTHING. WE ARE ALREADY HERE. COME TO THE VATRA DIASPORA. SUMMER 2026.
*medusa knows a little bit and continues to intentionally study work produced by community leaders