5 zloty project

During whole 2-year project, in different contexts, during workshops in schools, placement in Gozdowo or searching wonders of the cities and in many other situations, it turned out that sometimes the simple and short idea of the beggining action could be really helpful. …Put the table on the street, prepare one sheet of paper and ask people to draw small drawings -  symbols, connotations with the place/ the district you are in. Collect them, one by one and then you will have almost ready design for t-shirt…
… With piece of paper go to the chosen part of the city. Mark the place where you are in the moment of starting action. Ask the passer-by to direct you to his/her favourtite grocer’s shop/ coffe point/ park/ or pub… or something else. Ask your interlocutor to draw the route on your sheet of paper. Go to this point. Devise the next question ( another one) and ask the next person to draw the route. In one hour you will have the mental map of the neighbourhood…
… Buy the colourful chalk. Choose nice place on the wide pavement. Ask people to write down their favourite words. There will be nice piece of city-poetry soon…
… On the narrow colorful pieces of paper collect people’s answers of  question “What do you dream about?”. Then attach them to the string, string to the kite (you can buy or construct it simply). Then go to chosen high point (could be a balcony or a slope) and organize an action “To liberate dreams!”…

We make a list of  about 30 examples like that. We called it “first contact” actions. Or “5 zloty project” – because all of them are simple and  cheap.

We put short descriptions in small origami-boxes. Then organized a store on Bazar. We invited people to take one box and realize the action (with materials complated at our store). It was a great time of sharing the ideas. Somebody who was firstly the participant in few second was becoming into the animator. Whole area was full of people realizing their own first actions…

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Beetwen visions and dreams, in the maze of blocks and in the tangle of subway – searching for wonders of Warsaw we came to the southern part of our city.

With student of grammar school in Natolin, having them as a guides of this, still not enough known district (not enough by inhabitants of central Warsaw, of course) we were asking this returning question: what is interesting in that apparently uninteresting place?

Of course a subway. As a metaphore of postmodern journey and space. It became a game with photo-riddle during Breakfast. (see also play the game  description).

Of course their school and roads to school. But also other, not so obvious: Kazurówka hill – place of bikers struggles and illegal fags, some shops and… bus stops and all terminus …One of our participants – Szympans – knows all of it by heart and he took care of putting them on our map. But not only that – he also recitated, without any mistake, all routes of bus lines… It turned out that the best one in Ursynów is 503 – starting in Nowodwory with finish in North Natolin.

All of these wonders appeared on the map or during the game. The nice point, as usual was food – Pawel didn’t dissapoint us also this time. The real hit was nougat – a subtle reference to the name of one of the street in UrsynówJ

We had also two guests – Aleksander Mann talking about history and mithology of Ursynów and Marek Budzyński who shown us presentation ilustrating proccess of creating Ursynów and told fascinating story not only about architecture but even more about space philosophy.

It was the last Breakfast. But still so much in Warsaw to discover left… So, maybe, see U soon in the next Warsaw Breakfast’s edition!

Living in huge cities, in post-modern reality, being inhabitants of the shrinking world which becomes smaller and smaller, more and more accessible… we are participants of peculiar travel. We get on the plane at the airport, full of metal gates, glass walls, halls of terminal which are mirrors of open spaces of runways and then, just few moments later, we get off at the delusively similiar airport in the other part of the world. We are thousend kilometers of the start point of our journey, but we coudn’t feel it in fact, as we see so similar space.

This kind of impression becomes also an important part of an experience of somebody who is travelling by subway. For sure, in case of travelling by subway in Warsaw. It could take us far away from the center, far away at south. This southern part of the city could be seen by someone who doesn’t live there as the unknow area, amazing maze, where streets, buildings, parks and  stairs, seemingly so identical, involve in the great game of expoloring.

Exploring Ursynów.

This comparison of plane and subway, airports and metro platforms let me see the proccess of discovering Ursynów as a game. When you get off the plane first time in the foregin city, country or continent, you never know what will be the next, what will happen, what will you see. It is time of anxiety but also a moment when imagination work extremely intensively.

When I get off the subway at the first moment I feel like a child without parents, like a turist without a map. There is not enough points which could help my orientation. I don’t know where should I go and what I will see at the end, on the top of the stairs.

Thinking that way I have decided to create a game-map of Ursynów. Board concentrated around the line of subway and stretched between exits of successive stops. Photos announcing riddles. Common task for people – guest of Warsaw Breakfest – to guess where does every photo come from? Very simple rule: where this collective, elaborated in the tangle of barracking answer is correct, our common pawn could be moved to the next filed of guessing.

In fact, during taking photos, I was a kind of guinea pig – as a person who doesn’t know this part of the city, I was looking for interesting points, views, characteristic contrasts and personal discoveries.

 Young people from our workshop group from a school placed in Natolin, pointed their favourite places, streets, spots of meeting and spending time. Some of there arised then in the game board. Other created a map of magic, strange or special places. Map of the district where I feel like a tourist, guest, somebody like an intruder, but first of all as a person put in the middle of an exotic but also fascinating maze.

In this maze our young collaborators were more oriented, it was for them familiar an well-known area. This combination of two perspectives and two ways of percepting the space turned out the most interesting.

But, in fact, it was not only juxtaposition of viewpoints during Warsaw Breakfest. The second one brought together glance from the inside -from this maze, glance of newcomer and visitor -and, on the other hand, the bird’s eye view. This last one was initiated by our special guest – Marek Budzyński, an architect and designer of Ursynów. His story was a great mixture of historical, social, anthropological and technical ingredients, narration not only about possibilities of space use, but also about philosophy of space.We had a great chance to touch and see in this story an increadible proccess of creating in mind and imagination a part of the city, a part of public space with its sharp, clear and amazing idea….

Maybe now, although there is no additional subway line, Ursynów becomes a little bit closer…

Meeting about the future of Gozdowo-PROJECT coming soon !!!!!!!!

 When: On Tuesday, 11th December, start at 6.30 p.m. room 10, Institute of Polish Culture

What: Disscusing, planning, precising our ideas and talking about possibillities.

Everyone interested invited!!!

After exciting workshop, Breakfest promised to be even better. Extensive plans of our groups from making a huge instalation of tree to realizing all inventions devised during workshop gave us a strong hope that it would be Another Great Success.

Indeed, it was.

Tree became ‘planted’ and during whole event number of leaves-wonders was increasing, added by everybody who felt ‘rooted in Ochota’.

There was also an exhibition, still growing, of inventions for Ochota. Ideas of improving the district, frutis of vivid imagination of our interlocutors, precisely described waited for generous investorsJ

Maybe we will se soon great sandbox on Narutowicz’s square or monument of aviatress!

We were taken on the trip to underground world of Filtry, and also heard a GREAT STORY of INVENTIONS told by Gosia Litwinowicz, an expert of XIXth century ingenuity.

And the real hit were stickers with slogans and logos designed by prticipants of workshop  - students of Słowacki’s High School. All breakfasting people with sticker on their chests became an alive publicity of Ochota.

Three houres of flirting and filtering with this beautiful part of Warsaw!!!

What could be interesting or specific in a place which is between, everywhere and anywhere?

Before workshop we had some problem with pointing sharp wonders of Ochota. Only few trails: inventions, aviation and planes, sport…

Ok, as a start point it is enough.

Then, appeared more: for me – Żwirki and Wigury students hostels when my parents meet the first time and when many parties of my friends took places.

For Dorota – more aerial and aeroplane plots which created a vision of ‘winged Ochota’.

For Jarek – Skra Stadium and memories of the time of its magnificencey.

For Asia – mysterious Filtry and many, many more as she lives there….

But it was our meeting with students from Słowacki High School what in fact opened the  wonders horn of planty. They mental maps of Ochota turned out so full and crowded as the main street next to school this early morning when we tried to get there before workshop.

Abundance of meanings, images, memories, actions, details started to flow and created multilevel map.

Pizza on Barska street, men with ”too large bottom”, the special bank in a park, black cat, flowers in Narutowicz square, kiosks, first fags in playgrounds and many many others.

And then – a list of slogans which shown that, in fact it is one of the most interestinf part of the city and also one of the most contrastive.

‘Czy słońce czy słota, najlepsza Ochota’

‘Mam ochotę na Ochotę’

‘Ochota. Lubię’

‘Mogę tu zamieszkać na Ochotnika’ and many many others, impossible to translate…

But in fact many more happened during our filed workshop. I was amazed that it is possible to involve anybody in anything at 8 a.m next to ‘monument of aviator’ square.

My group was extremely determined – they put the small table next to the bus stop and then were stopping people and ask them to imagine invantions for Ochota and to vote for the best slogan. And… it worked!

After an hour we had an impressive output: more then 50 votes and 27 ideas of invention – just to mentien few:

Monument of Aviatress (or aviator-women;))

Great sandbox in Narutowicz Square for adults and kids

Flower-machine in the same square

Music Bicycle Paths with rainbows above it…

DiscoPolo Club and many many others….. And also some slogan choosed. Then we used them to design logos and stickers which turned out small pieces of art… And would become the hit of Warsaw Breakfest… But about it… later…

Dear cultural animators, friends and participants of cultural animation specialization!

As we work on publication about doing cultural animation; publication which would be a kind of guide for animators and artists doing their first, own projects, we ask You:

ASK A QUESTION you have ever wanted to ask!

ASK about what You have ever wanted to know!

How to work in practice?

How we can realize activities?

What to do in crisis situations? ….

This book could be an answer, full of inspiring examples and space of sharing experiences!

So – if you have concrete questions send it via internet.

animacja@uw.edu.pl

We are waiting!

Cultural Animation Team and “Katedra Kultury” Association

Praga Breakfast, the fourth, and to be honest probably the best one (all over the world;) took place last Sunday, as usual, at 12.00 in Instytut Teatralny, Warsaw.

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Last weekend we were in Gozdowo. In four-people strong team. What for?

Because it is time to continue our ANIMATOR project, time to think what we can do next, what is needed to be done there.

As an effect of our previous talks we decided to concentrate this time on working with the group of elder teenagers – participants of our June workshop and also people from last year project called Guide My Future (June-July 2006).

It seems to be obvious that the most important point is to encourage them to their own activity, to help them in creating something in their own. To show them that they can do exciting and marvelous things.

So, we met with them, and some new people also, on Saturday in our “office space” in the Gozdowo center. Three hours of “brain storm”, inspiring one each other, asking and answering questions. Then – the time of proposals and concrete ideas. And the catchword turned out: the journalist club.

Writing texts, taking photos, film and internet workshop, meetings with interesting peoples, trips to editorial offices… Then film projections for members and their friends, open presentations, exhibitions, events in school… Realising projects concentrated around concrete cases and subjects.

We encouraged our team to write application for the programme MAKE A CONNECTION – it could be their first dotation and first real and serious chance to realize their own project. We were working hard to answer all questions, to find solutions, and to precise ideas. It was important moment for them to see how difficult but how fascinating in fact it is. The text was written down, they had to discuss some pivotal problems and it helped to constitute the essence.

Finally, we didn’t manage to apply… Why? Many reasons – too short time, a little bit too young group, the lack of adult-supporter… But – it isn’t the end. Those meetings were great, and I believe gave them a lot of new counsciousness, infomation and skills. And showed us that there is a lot of energy in them.

And there are a lot of possibilities. So – we have to think what to do, how to help them, how to continue…

The memory of this feeling connected with exploring a forrest, running away from pursuit of  rivals, looking for hidden riddles and arrows left by opposite team…

It is a smell of childhood, present in every memory and imagination. Dream of adventure.

The proposal of project which could be made by our young workshop participants was born in connection of this childish dream.

An idea was both simple and sophisticated: this action had to be done in unturned relation – by children and youth for us and for adults of Gozdowo. Also for other children.

It was a challange and adventure – how to help and encourage them,how to convince that it is possible for them to do something on their own.

Planning, organizing, setting rules, finding interesting places, marking up a route, advertising an action – our democratic process of preparing the game was not easy but fascinating and enlightening. For some of young organizators it was the first contact with this kind of problems and questions and the first ocassion to cope with it.

What it should be about? How we can involve adults – parents, teachers or shop-assistent from grocery? How to plan a route – not to easy but complicated and interesting enough? What kind of tasks should give the game?

First of all we decided that it would be in but also about Gozdowo. There was a map with some points marked – the task of each team was to reach every point and to carry out a task.

The game became a small project – it was created and realized by participants who became animators-begginers.

Each point turned out to be a space of small action – at Krystian’s place competitors had to design logo of Gozdowo, in the small forest, in Wiola’s control-point they wrote a legend of their town, in the other spots the vision of future in Gozdowo was created.

The joy was great – maybe first of all because it was a time of being together – grandparents with grandchildren, friends form school, animators form Warsaw and teenagers from grammar school.

And because it was the first own success, first own project made by our young friends!

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