A long long time ago, in a universe far far away, I was a student. I struggled a lot with my teachers but they were fabulous enough to allow this. They put up with my constant questioning, my constant challenging, my constant misbehaviour. One day, one of the other students came up to me and said, “I was having a tutorial with Tony and he said I should talk to you about safety nets.” I said, “What?” Continue reading
So, we are preparing ourselves to work together and to work in/with this place called Gozdowo. We are in the middle of a 2 week visit and we are tired. (But rather excited I think.) We are painfully aware that we can do everything wrong, that maybe we are not doing everything right or in the right order or in the right room.
Yesterday evening I ran a workshop introducing Photoshop as a tool for cultural animation. I work with this tool myself. A lot. But not exclusively. I work also with paint, with performance, with chocolate, with statistics, with plastic bags. Continue reading
An introduction to the Seven Wonders of Warsaw was made at Tarabuk café. Brendan Jackson from Laundry gave a brief overview of the project, and Jarek Kaczmarek and Gosia Litwinowicz outlined of the work that Studnia O will be undertaking over the next few months, working in seven districts of Warsaw, startrng in Saska Kepa and Żoliborz with the first public presentations of the work in progress (Sniadania Warszawskie) on Sunday May 20th and Sunday June 17th at the Instytut Teatralny on Aleje Ujazdowskie 45.
Later in the autumn, Brendan will be leading workshops for young artists and cultural animators to create their own Wonders of Warsaw. If you’re interested in participating, email him at brendanjack@gmail.com
A background paper to the Wonders project can be downloaded here, in English (wonders-en.pdf) and Polish (wonders-pl.pdf)
For further information on Studnia visit: http://www.studnia.org/
Implementing and disseminating the idea of cultural animation – episode 1. Continue reading
In April a thirteen person group will make a one week study trip to Lithuania investigating independent theatres and other cultural activities from the perspective of cultural animation. Lithuanian students from Art Institute (VMU) will meet Polish students from Instytut Kultury Polskiej (WU) in Vilnius, jointly will go to Kaunas for a one day stop and team-building before a grand tour through the specific region of Lithuania called Lithuania Minor. Continue reading
A quick guide to our future playground- Gozdowo. Continue reading
"Katedra Kultury" Association and Laundry are organizing Photoshop workshops for Cultural Animation students and graduates:
Cultural Animation + Adobe Photoshop – How, When & Why to use it? Continue reading
Program warsztatów Continue reading
This post is a little bit delayed, but as we, Poles say: better late then never;) so…
It was the beautiful day, January 15th anno domini 2007, when our great team (consisting of: Gosia, Dorota R, Jacek, Dorota P, Piotrek (the driver), Magda & Marta) sets forth to magic place called Gozdowo. At the beggining of our trip it turned out that Piotr’s car was broken and as a result we had a great and the one and only possibilty to use the different and a little bit hipi-looking vehicle with french registration (don’t ask why?)
So, provided with good feelings, sandwiches (too less as it turned out later), sun-glasses (it was sunny, more like in april then in january), light clothes (it seemed to be really sunny at the beggining), one polish flag found in the car and the strong decision to have a good and fruitful time in Gozdowo, we started our trip:)
In fact, to meet an adventure we didn’t have to wait too much. More or less in ¾ of our road the car started to produce strange sounds and then stopped. Piotr did smth with an engine, gave him some oil, or smth similar (now, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t oil). After once more compusory stop on petrol station, where a nice guy forced once again our engine to work a little bit more, we finally reached our aim.
In the moment we came to school in Gozdowo (the central point of our project activity and, as I suppose, something like the headquarters) we found ourselves in the middle of the feast. As it turned out, we had a great luck – it was a day of concerts and celebrations organized on the occasion of Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy (in short: some charity feast, the most famous in Poland). So a little bit of fuss.
But, almost in the first moment we met some of our young friends from last-year project Guide my Future, which took place in Gozdowo (I hope You will be able to read smth more about it on our website soon). After exchange of hugs, kisses, “how-are-you?” questions etc. we learnt that all of these guys were involved this day in some nice actions like english-karaoke or theMostStupidSongCompetition!
So – they are visible in this school! and interested in our new project very much (included the wish of help us and start any activity). Perfectly!
After this first, informal part, there was a meeting with headmaster and teachers. Very nice atmosphere and it seemed that both sides had a real hope to do something great.
We were talking about our experience with Guide my Future and about our ideas. Teachers told about place-possibilities, a litlle bit about needs and specific of gmina. Then Gosia presented a general idea of whole ANIMATOR, ę told about their general propositions and also experience. Maybe without very precicion estabishments and conclusions but with something like brain-storm or ideas-exchange this meeting was really good start-point of our project!
Then we had a quick look of Gozdowo: for some of us it wasn’t first time of course, but in fact we noticed some new and interesting places: island! Library! Something like club-room next to school! Empty market place! Old and also empty railway-station building!
The next step was visit in the place where we perhaps would live in June – House of Wiktorscy. They welcomed us with sausage and sausage and more great sausage….. In fact it was really tasty and great but: IMPORTANT for vegetarians involved in project – Mr. Wiktorski is a butcher so You have to change your mind (about meat or about project;)) or take a lot of soya-food.
Then went to see a litlle bit neighbourhood – with lakes (possibility to use beach-area!) and old, empty mill (quite far but really magic- like in fairy tail:)
And…..we decided to go back Warsaw…. we decided but it is another thing to think and another to do…. so, after about 20 kilometers, after trying to puch it and talk to it….. our car irrevocablly died….
So… two hours later, when we were still stucked in the middle of empty, cold and dark field, without front and back lights and without assistance ( maybe with the french one;))… it happened a mirracle! The help came and get our car somewhere and us to Warsaw by beautiful, warm and new car:)
So… the next episode with Gozdow/car adventure will be soon, because it wasn’t the end:)))
But, to be serious – after this January trip:
good relations with school:) (i think so at least)
some idease of places possibilly useful
two options of accomodation (also school in Ostrowy) – rather, if possible soltys-house
some idea of our project left for teachers, headmaster and some people there
certainty that Guide My Future is still remembered:)
certainty that Gozdowo was a good choice for ANIMATOR residency in June/July:)
certainty that we will need a good transport
Provisional dates of our residency in Gozdowo are:
20.06 – 01.07