Sessions have taken place this week in a new gallery space in Praga - Appendix2 - to explore the Wonders of Warsaw.

Following an introductory session on Tuesday afternoon, field research was undertaken on Wednesday and Thursday. The aim was to identify a series of Wonders in the city to be recorded and celebrated in some way - participants were invited to work together in small teams to identify a Wonder and make a creative response to it. Our definition of Wonder? Something that is perhaps overlooked or whose history is forgotten,  something extraordinary in the ordinary, looking for inspiration in something considered commonplace, something with an emotional resonance that is specific and particular. We asked participants to consider a series of questions: What is the smell of Warsaw? What is the taste of Warsaw? What is the texture of the city?  What are the hidden pleasures of the city? We gave participants a random set of tasks to undertake during their exploration  - some quite abstract, for example, ‘find a lonely object’. Participants were asked to SMS impressions at specific times during the day - these later formed a kind of txt poem. We also asked participants to engage with people in their place of work as well as public spaces, to collect ideas and Wonders from a wider group, from people outside of their normal social structure. Visits were made to the zoo, a tram depot, a film archive, the fireman academy and tv station. The point of this was to examine these questions: How might you work in these contexts, with these groups of people?  Where is the genesis of an idea for a project that engages with people, their concerns and interests? How do you start a project?

Proposals and propositions were developed and presented back in various forms to an invited audience on Friday night. These included the following (presented here as Quicktime movies).

• Process - SMS text messages between participants
  
• Process - Warszawa Wsza - smell, taste, rhythm
  
• Tyle tych cudow - work in progress by Agata, Olga and Paulina
  

These ideas will be developed further as part of a publication and exhibition in April 2008. Participants are invited to propose how they might make a project as part of the final event of Animator.

We invite you to share your Wonders of Warsaw with us.

Engaging with people in public spaces, asking them what they found special about the city…Making their own observations and notes…Making their own observations and notes…Making their own observations and notes…Meeting people in places of work such as the zoo…Meeting people in places of work such as the zoo…Or the tram depot…Or the tram depot…Or the tram depot…Or the TV station…Or the TV station…On the street…On the street…Even in front of the reporters from TVP3 Kurier Warszawski…Or in a local cafe…Objects and comments were collected…Objects and comments were collected…and displayed in a variety of media…and displayed in a variety of media…and displayed in a variety of media…Visitors arrive on friday night to add their thoughts and reflections…Viewing the results of the participants investigations…Viewing the results of the participants investigations…Viewing the results of the participants investigations…Viewing the results of the participants investigations…Viewing the results of the participants investigations…..and now time to relax a little.

Participants:

Marta Czemarmazowicz
Julia Biczysk
Weronika Pafianowicz
Magda Wodiczko
Ania Tatarska
Ania Rogozińska
Agata Awruk
Paulina Paga
Olga Kapela
Agnieszka Pajączkowska

Laundry:
Ania Bas and Brendan Jackson

Thanks to Jacek and Paweł Sosnowski at Appendix2 for support.
And to Ania Ptak and Dominik Skrzypkowski.