The Polish Cultural Institute in London BIENNIAL Report 2011/12 by PolishInstituteLondon

B R 2 /

I E e p 0 1 2 0

N N I A L o r t 1 1 2

Polish Cultural Institute in London

Biannual Report 2011/12

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

B R 2 /

I E e p 0 1 2 0

Polish Cultural Institute in London

N N I A L o r t 1 1 2

Polish Cultural Institute in London

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

Polish Cultural Institute in London

6–7

INTRODUCTION

8-9 10-11 12-13 14-15 16-17 18-19 20-23 24-25 26-27 28-29

2011 POLISH CULTURAL INSTITUTE 2011 IN NUMBERS 2011 MAP OF ACTIVITIES 2011 TOP 10 EVENTS FILM LITERATURE/CONFERENCES MUSIC/OPERA VISUAL ARTS/DESIGN THEATRE/DANCE Science

30-31 32-33 34–35 36-37 38-41 42-43 44-45 46-49 50-51

2012 POLISH CULTURAL INSTITUTE 2012 IN NUMBERS 2012 MAP OF ACTIVITIES 2012 TOP 10 EVENTS Film LITERATURE/CONFERENCES Music VISUAL ARTs/DESIGN/FASHION Theatre

52-55 56-57

OUR PARTNERS 2011 - 2012 OUR TEAM 2011 - 2012

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

Polish Cultural Institute in London

Dear Friends,

2 0 1 1 2 0 1 2

It is my great pleasure to present the Polish Cultural Institute’s report for the years 2011 and 2012. It is the first of our reports to be available to everyone online. I hope this is just the beginning and it will become the norm allowing everyone interested in following Polish cultural affairs in Britain to have access to user-friendly information. These two years have been extremely important in terms of the Polish presence in the UK. The primary impetus has been excellent, rapidly developing collaboration between Polish and British artists, programme managers and institutions. The other significant factor has been the many cultural events taking place to celebrate the Polish Presidency of the EU Council. Despite the financial crisis and widespread budget cuts in the creative industries, we have seen a growing number of Polish–British and British–Polish initiatives throughout the UK. There have been Polish films, exhibitions, books, concerts and theatre productions all over the country. This is great news but it is also means: we won’t be able to tell you about everything that happened. We draw particular satisfaction from the fact that we have witnessed a growing interest in Polish affairs among our British friends. The high level of feedback we receive makes our job more enjoyable. We found time to engage in a number of successful European projects. Together with our colleagues from EUNIC London* we organised several conferences, which have encouraged people in the UK to become more familiar with European affairs.

Recently a rather unexpected piece of news made the headlines: Polish has become the second language of the British Isles. Tongue-in-cheek I might say polonising the British Isles is rather a long-term objective; more seriously I welcome this news along with a more substantial presence for Polish arts as these are a natural stage in the development of the Polish community here in the UK and give us excellent opportunities of getting to know one another. I would like to thank everyone – each and every individual involved in British–Polish cultural dialogue. This dialogue has accelerated suddenly, but it has definitely not yet reached its maximum potential. This gives us hope that in the near future we will witness lots of wonderful projects and inspired initiatives. In the meantime, please have a look at what we have achieved over the last two years. Please remember we always welcome your suggestions and comments including criticism – the more the better. After all, sleepless nights on our part and ongoing discussion may well help to stimulate us and generate new ideas. I hope you enjoy reading our report. Roland Chojnacki Director, Polish Cultural Institute in London P.S. I would like to express my gratitude to our friends from DFDS Seaways for continually supporting our endeavours to stimulate British–Polish cultural adventures. This report would be much slimmer without their support. (*EUNIC is a network of international cultural relations institutes from the member states of the European Union. EUNIC London is an association of 11 cultural institutes based in London.)

Polish Cultural Institute in London

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

2 0 1_ “Chorus of Women” directed by Marta Górnicka, Photo: Instytut Teatralny im. Zbigniewa Raszewskiego.

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

1 1

Polish Cultural Institute in London

T h e P o lis h C u l t u ral I ns t i t u t e 2 0 1 1 I N N U M B E R S

508 artists and guests PARTICIPATED IN our events 435 OF THEM CAME FROM POLAND FOR OUR EVENTS WITH OUR HELP

We JOINTLY ORGANISED 257 events, took part in 173 projects and co-produced 19 CD’s, DVD’s & BOOKS 364,900 PEOPLE ATTENDED THE POLISH CULTURAL INSTITUTE’S EVENTS

WE USED 128 VENUES TO HOLD OUR EVENTS WORKING TOGETHER WITH 187 partner organisations

Polish Cultural Institute in London

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

Polish Cultural Institute in London

M A P OF A C T I V I T I E S 2 0 1 1

20 cities g las g o w

oxford

e d inb u r g h

h ay - o n - w y e

bel f as t

s o u t h en d - o n - sea

d u r h am

bris t o l

lee d s

lo n d o n

s h e f f iel d

can t erb u r y

h u d d ers f iel d

p en z ance

n o t t in g h am

e x e t er

maesma w r

S t Helier ( J erse y )

glasgow

edinburgh

durham belfast leeds sheffield huddersfield

nottingham

maesmawr hereford

h ere f o r d

cambridge oxford

hay-on-wye

cambri d g e

southend-on-sea canterbury

bristol london penzance exeter jersey

c h a n n e l i s l a n d s

dorset

Polish Cultural Institute in London

T o p

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

1 0

even t s

9th Kinoteka Polish Film Festival

Lemistry In collaboration with the PCI Comma Press published an anthology exploring the legacy of the celebrated sci-fi writer Stanisław Lem. It is a creative blend of short stories and essays by 20 British and Polish fiction writers, critics, poets, artists and scientists. This book also features specially commissioned translations of three stories by Lem. Its publication was accompanied by a series of events celebrating Lem’s legacy.

For the 9th edition of the festival we brought together the leading lights of Polish cinema, with an impressive and diverse selection of internationally acclaimed titles from debut filmmakers, well respected auteurs, cult directors, rediscovered classics, unknown gems, and award-winning shorts as well as innovative visual art and design, a host of special guest appearances and fresh sounds from up and coming musicians.

RobotvilleEU The Science Museum and EUNIC London exhibited more than 20 unique robots from 15 EU countries over a period of four days. Many of the robots were supplied directly by research laboratories and were on show to the British public for the first time. Robotics specialists from the UK and Europe were on hand to demonstrate their work to the 9,500 visitors.

Miłosz Year 2011 was the hundredth anniversary of the birth of the poet and writer, Nobel laureate Czesław Miłosz. The PCI celebrated with a full programme of events spanning projects such as Poems On The Underground, an audiobook Stephen Fry Reads Czesław Miłosz, the Miłosz Day at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, and a Miłosz Pop-up Poetry event.

Wrocław Philharmonic Choir at THE BBC Proms Following their successful UK debut in 2009 the Choir took part in this renowned classical British music extravaganza once again. Their performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah alongside the Gabrieli Consort was conducted by Paul McCreesh.

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

T o p

1 0

Polish Cultural Institute in London

even t s

Turandot at THE Edinburgh Fringe

Dance Union

Polish experimental theatre at its best! This punk-style performance told the story of Puccini writing his last great masterpiece Turandot as he was dying. The narrative and the opera were blurred together to create a heady mix resulting in a visually rich and musically engaging performance. It won both the 2011 Herald Angel Award and the 2011 Total Theatre Award.

This three-day festival at the Southbank Centre introduced the work of 21 emerging European choreographers and companies from 20 different countries. In their performance 3D-ance, Polish dancer Barbara Bujanowska and music and video designer Marcin Janus explored how we perceive, understand and receive dance in the context of its surrounding reality.

Mania: The Story of a Cigarette Factory Worker This long-lost silent film from 1918 starring legendary Polish actress Pola Negri was recently restored. It was screened in 6 European capitals including London, accompanied by live music from the Wrocław Chamber Orchestra Leopoldinum. This exciting event was part of our celebration of the Polish Presidency of the EU Council.

Astronomers’ Ball This extraordinary evening of astronomy, comedy and music on the Greenwich meridian featured discussions with Polish astronomers, British comedians and scientists and actors telling the stories of the Polish astronomers Hevelius and Copernicus. The event also included star gazing, dancing and intergalactic food. It was a sell-out and the talk of the town!

Wilhelm Sasnal at THE Whitechapel Gallery The first major UK exhibition of Polish artist Wilhelm Sasnal featured over 60 of his paintings from the last ten years. His style fuses atmospheric Romanticism with cool Realism and ironic Pop as he overrides traditional distinctions between abstract and figurative art. Alongside his paintings, the Gallery presented a selection of Sasnal’s films. The exhibition drew thousands of visitors over two and a half months and gained critical acclaim in Britain and abroad.

Polish Cultural Institute in London

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

Polish Cultural Institute in London

ilm

2011 was a busy year in the London PCI’s film calendar. We collaborated with a great number of high-profile film festivals, organised the 9th edition of our own KINOTEKA Polish Film Festival and supported the distribution of Polish films in the UK. The Edinburgh International Film Festival showed Agnieszka Łukasiak’s Between Two Fires as well as a Jerzy Skolimowski retrospective. At the Leeds International Film Festival some of the shorts from Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Decalogue were screened alongside Juliusz Machulski’s cult film Sexmission. Visitors to the East End Film Festival could see Jerzy Kawalerowicz’s Mother Joan of the Angels and several contemporary films from Poland. Meanwhile at the London International Animation Festival, a focus on Polish animation included a masterclass by Wojciech Wawszczyk and a the UK premiere of his animated feature film George the Hedgehog. We also participated in The Celluloid Curtain festival Europe’s Cold War in Film, which marked the 50th anniversary of the building of the Berlin Wall by screening spy films from both sides of the Iron Curtain. Poland was represented by Jan Batory’s Rendezvous with a Spy. The hugely successful film Maska produced by the Brothers Quay with the assistance of the PCI was screened at more than 50 international festivals. It won the First Prize in the Animation category at the Athens International Film and Video Festival, Best Short Film at the International Film Festival of Uruguay, Best Music Original at the Annecy festival international du film d’animation, and the Short Wave Award at the 19th Curtas Vila Do Conde. At the Opening Night Gala of PCI’s flagship project KINOTEKA we welcomed Jerzy

Skolimowski as our guest of honour and watched his latest film Essential Killing. Over the following weeks our audiences enjoyed a selection of award-winning features and shorts by talented emerging filmmakers and a retrospective of comedies by the legendary Janusz and Andrzej Kondratiuk. We also organized an exhibition of film and theatre posters by Franciszek Starowieyski (1930-2009) while the Tate Modern showcased work by performance artist and photographer Zofia Kulik. At the Closing Gala we showed Henryk Szaro’s Strong Man, a silent film from 1929, with live musical accompaniment by Polish jazz band Pink Freud. Another high-profile event held as part of the celebrations of the part of the Polish Presidency of the EU Council was the UK premiere of Mania. The Story of a cigarette Factory Worker at the Barbican. This silent film from 1918, which stars the legendary Polish actress Pola Negri, was only recently rediscovered and remastered by the Polish Film Archives. The Wroclaw Philharmonic Orchestra Leopoldinum played Jerzy Maksymiuk’s new score, conducted by the composer. Thanks to the PCI’s support, a number of Polish films went on general release in the UK. Artificial Eye made Jerzy Skolimowski’s Essential Killing available in British cinemas, while Cooltura films distributed several Polish productions including the box office hit The Battle of Warsaw. Over the years the PCI’s support of newly emerging talent as well as timeless classics has enhanced the profile of Polish culture abroad. Our exciting programme of events in 2011 was enthusiastically received and established a solid Polish presence on the UK and international film scenes.

1__

2__

3__

1__Łukasz, Ronduda, Stuart Comer, and Zofia Kulik discuss Kulik’s work “Activities with Dobromierz”. 2__Director Jerzy Skolimowski before the UK premiere of “Essential Killing”, Photo: Elżbieta Piekacz/ Polish Cultural Institute in London. 3__9th Kinoteka screening at the Barbican Cinema 1, Photo: Elżbieta Piekacz/ Polish Cultural Institute in London.

Polish Cultural Institute in London

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

One of the key themes this year was women’s literature. At the LSE Space for Thought Festival writers Grażyna Plebanek and Izabela Filipiak discussed migration from a female perspective; at the Southbank Centre Olga Tokarczuk presented her short story The Ugliest Woman in the World from the anthology Best European Fiction; while Elżbieta Wójcik-Leese read her English translations of Marzanna Kielar’s poetry at the Borderlands event hosted by Poet in the City. A UK audience was introduced to the feminist writer Bożena Keff at EUNIC’s annual European Literature Night when she talked about her book On Mother and Fatherland. The international Conference on Polish Literature Since 1989 held at SSEES UCL also focused on the role of female writers and translators. The London PCI turned the spotlight on two literary anniversaries: the 100th anniversary of Nobel laureate Czesław Miłosz’s birth and sci-fi master Stanisław Lem’s 90th. Polish poetry reached millions of commuters through TfL’s Poems on the Underground. A CD audiobook of Miłosz’s poetry read by Stephen Fry was produced in collaboration with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. Eminent critics and writers discussed the poet’s work at the

Polish Cultural Institute in London

/ C O N F E R E N C E S The promotion of Polish literature in the UK has been gaining momentum over the past few years. In 2011 the PCI in London prepared the ground for the publication of numerous Polish books in translation in 2012. Together with a group of prominent English translators we put in place a mentoring scheme for young translators. We also broadened our participation in literary festivals across the UK and in the expanding European Literature Network. Our focus, however, was on high-profile events designed to attract UK readers to Polish literature.

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

3__

1__

Edinburgh International Book Festival and at the Conference on Polish Literature at SSEES UCL. The British Library and Poet in the City, hosted a festive Miłosz gala. We celebrated Stanisław Lem’s birthday by supporting the publication of two Leminspired books, which were both on show at the RobotvilleEU exhibition at London’s Science Museum. The PCI and Comma Press commissioned the anthology Lemistry: A Celebration of the work of Stanisław Lem, which showcases the best sci-fi writers from Poland and the UK and also includes three stories by Lem that have never appeared in English before. The Timof Comics, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the PCI published both English and Polish editions of Robot…, a graphic novel by Andrzej Klimowski and Danusia Schejbal. Our history programme provided support for Anita Prażmowska’s talk about the Polish composer and politician Ignacy Paderewski, as well as lectures given by Adam Michnik (editorin-chief of Gazeta Wyborcza) and Yale Professor Timothy Snyder (author of Bloodlands) on social and political upheavals in the 20th century. A collection of articles addressing modern Polish-Jewish relations was launched at the annual conference of the Institute for PolishJewish Studies. These projects and events communicated the historical significance and the continuing vibrancy of Polish writing across the genres of fiction, poetry and history to audiences in the UK. What is more we can assure UK readers that in 2011 we have prepared the ground for new and challenging works of Polish literature to appear in the near future.

2__

4__

1__Graphic novel “Robot...” by Stanisław Lem, illustrated by Andrzej Klimowski and Danusia Schejbal. 2__Collection of short stories “Lemistry.A celebration of the work of Stanisław Lem”. 3__Adam Michnik and Dr Uilleam Blacker at Cambridge University. 4__Pop up Poetry Miłosz event outside the British Library building, Photo: Elżbieta Piekacz/ Polish Cultural Institute in London.

Polish Cultural Institute in London

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

1__Leszek Możdżer performs at the London Jazz Festival, Photo: Elżbieta Piekacz.

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

Polish Cultural Institute in London

M U S I C / OP E R A

1__

2__“The Passenger” directed by David Pountney, Photo: Carl Forster. 3__“Nerv Cell_o” by Zbigniew Karkowski performed by Anton Lukoszevieze, Photo: © Alex Beldea. 4__Arte Dei Suonatori.

2__

3__

4__

Many facets of contemporary Polish music were evident at UK festivals and concert series in 2011, but young and innovative composers and performers were particularly visible. The Baroque orchestra Arte Dei Suonatori, which made its London debut at Spitalfields Music Festival, was among the outstanding Polish musicians touring the UK with support from the PCI. The I, Culture orchestra, a flagship project of the Polish Presidency of the EU Council, was applauded enthusiastically at the Royal Festival Hall. The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival welcomed composers Agata Zubel, Zbigniew Karkowski and Cezary Duchnowski; Anna Zaradny and Robert Piotrowicz performed their individual, intriguing live electronic music at the Sottovoce Festival; composer Hanna Kulenty’s new work was played at Sounds New and electroacoustic artist Michał Jacaszek performed at Alpha-ville in London. Following their memorable BBC Proms concert of Haydn’s The Creation in 2009 the Wrocław Philharmonic Choir returned to the Proms, once more conducted by Paul McCreesh. Their exceptionally precise performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah was praised for its ‘perfect co-ordination, but even better, great enthusiasm and commitment’ (Opera Today). The musical highlight of the year was a production of Mieczysław Weinberg’s The Passenger at the English National Opera. This epic 20th century masterpiece, completed in 1968, is based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Auschwitz survivor Zofia Posmysz. Weinberg, whose music has been described as ‘Shostakovich with a Jewish accent’, did not live to see the premiere of his opera at the

Bregenz Festival in 2010. Conducted at the ENO by Sir Richard Armstrong and staged by David Pountney, the production was hailed as ‘a work that demands and deserves to be seen’ (Opera). Even before the fall of communism Poland’s musical scene was remarkably open to new music genres. Polish metal, jazz, electronic and experimental music have always enjoyed a wide audience in the UK. After 1989 the Polish scene exploded with new talent and more diverse styles ranging from iconic jazz musicians such as Leszek Możdżer and Tomasz Stanko (both regular visitors at the London Jazz Festival) to the latest wave of experimental, improv and avant-garde performers. These trends are fully reflected in the Polish Deli show hosted by sound artist Kacper Ziemianin on Resonance FM, the UK’s most acclaimed globally streamed arts radio station as well as in the first edition of the Jazz and Experimental Music from Poland festival organised by the Deconstruction Project.

Polish Cultural Institute in London

1__WrocĹ&#x201A;aw Philharmonic Choir at the BBC Proms, Photo: Blaka Maxim.

Biannual Report 2011/12

Polish Cultural Institute in London

VISUAL

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

Polish Cultural Institute in London

ARTS/DESIGN 1__

In the past few years the PCI has played a key role in promoting Polish visual art and design in the UK. Our collaborative projects with leading British institutions have helped integrate Polish artists and designers into the UK’s mainstream cultural landscape. For instance young Polish interior designers and architects were given the opportunity to display their work at the London Design Festival and at 100% Design London. Polish artists also participated in group shows and art festivals and we were especially delighted to be able to support many solo exhibitions by Polish artists. Jacek Szelegejd of the Wilanów Poster Museum in Warsaw curated an exhibition of Franciszek Starowieyski’s film and theatre posters. It brought together dozens of posters from the 1960s and 70s at the Riverside Studios and the Barbican Centre. A number of contemporary art solo shows were exhibited all over the UK. Wilhelm Sasnal’s first major UK exhibition at London’s Whitechapel Gallery featured over 60 paintings from the last 10 years. Drawn from museums and private collections all over the world the works address the complexities of contemporary life by juxtaposing references to art history and popular culture. This critically acclaimed exhibition attracted nearly 40,000 visitors. Jakub Julian Ziółkowski, a rising star on the international art scene, was one of the less well known Polish artists who was able to exhibit their work with the PCI’s support. His hallucinatory, almost frightening paintings were shown at London’s Parasol Unit, a nonprofit institution well known for its exhibitions of challenging contemporary artists. At the Spike Island in Bristol, Cezary Bodzianowski showed his site-specific installation Tea Back. Trained as a sculptor in Poland and

Belgium, Bodzianowski has increasingly turned to creating to absurdist interventions in everyday settings. Paweł Śliwiński’s UK debut at the Supplement Gallery in London was marked by a subtle sense of humour. His show Family explores apparently serious themes such as pedigree versus change and tradition versus novelty but they also playfully exploit contemporary Polish issues such as drunkenness and hooliganism. The question of Polish identity was also addressed at Belfast Exposed which showcased two works by Allan Sekula. The acclaimed US photographer explores his Polish ancestry through the themes of national identity and migration – issues that are at both individual and at the same time universal.

2__

We are particularly proud that the PCI can count such a breadth of different types of Polish art and design among its many successes during 2011. Our acitivity in the Visual Arts in 2011 is evidence of our commitment to supporting up-and-coming Polish talent across all sectors and disciplines.

3__

1__Wilhelm Sasnal at the Whitechapel Gallery installation view, courtesy Whitechapel Gallery and the artist. 2__Jakub Julian Ziółkowski “In Utero 2011” installation view, courtesy Parasol Unit and the artist, Photo: Stephen White. 3__Allan Sekuła “Polonia and Other Fables” installation view, courtesy Belfast Exposed and the artisto.

Polish Cultural Institute in London

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

Polish Cultural Institute in London

TH E A T R E / D A N C E 1__

In 2011 the PCI supported a variety of contemporary Polish theatre and performance art groups on their UK tours. The shows proved popular with UK audiences and hugely successful with critics – perhaps because of their tendency to draw on a variety of traditions, while treating language with a healthy dose of suspicion. Enthusiastic reviews of Paweł Passini’s Turandot mention the aspect of contemporary Polish theatre which appeals to countless UK critics and spectators: its successful blend of drama and music. Passini’s multimedia performance won both the Herald Angel Award and the Total Theatre Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Theatre Festival. Turandot is both a deconstruction of Puccini’s opera and a visceral exploration of the mind of a dying composer desperately trying to finish his last work. Passini’s emphasis on speechlessness (Puccini died of throat cancer), on visual beauty and musicality is part of an significant trend in Polish theatre – a trend which the PCI has helped bring to UK audiences. Another project that creatively harnesses traditional aesthetics is The Chorus of Women directed by Marta Górnicka shown at the Belfast Festival at Queen’s. This modern form of chorus theatre reclaims the unheard voices of women in contemporary culture, undermines linguistic clichés and reveals the ideological dimension of language. The Chorus also travelled to Kiev, Berlin, and Tokyo as part of the cultural programme of the Polish Presidency of the EU Council. Polish visual theatre, which draws on the language of gestures rather than the spoken word, travels well. We supported two

important shows in the UK: one was the Teatr Biuro Podróży ‘s outdoor spectacle Planet Lem at the Watch This Space Festival to celebrate the inauguration of Poland’s Presidency of the EU Council; the other was an intensive workshop at the Barbican for performers interested in integrating text, movement and song run by the Song of the Goat Theatre. Both events were enthusiastically received by London audiences. The PCI in London supported both new talent and well established performance artists. During the DancEUnion festival at the Southbank Centre, the spotlight was on 20 young dance and choreography ensembles from all over Europe. Poland was represented by 3d-ance, a multimedia project by Basia Bujakowska and Marcin Janus. The New Moves New Territories festival in Glasgow held a retrospective of Polish performance art which was part of a series dedicated to the history of European performance art. Polish Roots showcased five internationally acclaimed performance artists from the 1980’s: Przemyslaw Kwiek, Zbigniew Warpechowski, Janusz Baldyga, Artur Tajber and Zygmunt Piotrowski. These two special events – like all the shows we helped bring to the UK – allowed English-speaking audiences to engage with Polish theatre and performance at a level beyond the boundaries of language.

2__

3__

1_ Dancer Barbara Bujakowska performs “3d-ance”. 2_ Grzegorz Bral leads workshop for performers, Photo: Mateusz Bral Photography. 3_”Turandot” directed Paweł Passini, Photo: M. Jadczak.

Polish Cultural Institute in London

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

Innovation is a buzzword in the UK. We need new technologies not only to stimulate economic growth, but also to ensure environmental and social sustainability. The general public’s interest in scientific discoveries and innovative technologies is evident from the extensive media coverage they receive. But there remains an urgent need to bridge the gap that currently divides the domains of ‘science’ from those of ‘culture’. The challenges today are to encourage cross-fertilisation between culture and science, to support scientific research that is undertaken with imagination and cultural ambition and to foster a new generation of open-minded polymaths with a global vision. In October 2011 the London PCI teamed up with the Royal Observatory in Greenwich to celebrate the London Science Festival by organising an Astronomers’ Ball on the Prime Meridian together with Guerilla Science and Secret Garden Productions. Tickets sold out two weeks in advance and the evening – a special mix of science, art, music and play – was a huge success. Visitors were given the opportunity to meet astronomers working across Poland, Switzerland, and the UK at the Festival. We also organised lectures, demonstrations and exhibitions in the Royal Observatory’s historical buildings. The event highlighted the achievements of Polish astronomers such as Copernicus and Hevelius, who revolutionised our perception of the universe. Polish astronomers gave a variety of presentations: Stanisław Bajtlik, for instance, explained the formation of the universe, while Joanna Molenda-Żakowicz discussed the cosmic aspects of Tai Chi.

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

Visitors to London’s Science Museum were given a unique opportunity to experience the most advanced robots from all over Europe. The RobotvilleEU exhibition was the brainchild of the PCI in London, which organised it together with EUNIC London in partnership with the Cognitive Systems and Robotics Programme (funded by the European Commission) and the European Commission Representation in the UK. It celebrated the cutting edge of European robot design and innovation and explored the cultural significance of robots. The idea of intelligent machines dates back hundreds of years and can be tracked back all the way to Homer’s Iliad, but only recently have they become a reality. Humanoid robots are already part of our lives, but in the future their interaction with real people will become incresingly sophisticated. We need to consider how to relate to robots and artificial intelligence.

1__

2__

3__

Poland’s contribution to the Science Museum’s Robots Festival was twofold: FLASH, a robot created at Wrocław University of Technology and a talk given by writer Wojciech Orliński about Polish sci-fi writer Stanisław Lem. The lecture ‘weR Robots’ by cultural theorist Joanna Żylińska, Professor of New Media and Communications at Goldsmiths, University of London, focused on ethical issues related to robots. The show was curated in such a way as to emphasise our familiarity with robots exhibiting them in everyday surroundings. This idea was very popular and more than 9,500 visitors attended the exhibition. It also resulted in a world-wide media coverage of the show. The RobotvilleEU successfully demonstrated innovative technology, the importance of international collaboration and the inextricable link between science and culture.

1_ Robot Flash at the “RobotvilleEU”, Photo: Patu Tifinger. 2_ Poster for “The Astronomer’s Ball”. 3_ Robot iCub at the “RobotvilleEU”, Photo: Jennie Hills/ Science Museum London.

Polish Cultural Institute in London

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

2 0 1__Jazz & Experimental Music from Poland at the Queen of Hoxton, Photo: Jakub Wittchen.

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

Polish Cultural Institute in London

1 2

Polish Cultural Institute in London

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

T h e P o lis h C u l t u ral I ns t i t u t e 2 0 1 2 I N N U M B E R S

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

Polish Cultural Institute in London

368 ARTISTS PARTICIPATED IN OUR EVENTS 340 OF THEM CAME FROM POLAND FOR OUR EVENTS WITH OUR HELP

We JOINTLY ORGANISED 146 events, took part In 159 projects AND co-produced 21 CD’s, DVD’s & BOOKS 209,000 PEOPLE ATTENDED THE POLISH CULTURAL INSTITUTE’S EVENTS (excluding public commissions)

WE USED 119 VENUES TO HOLD OUR EVENTS WORKING TOGETHER WITH 139 partners

Polish Cultural Institute in London

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

Polish Cultural Institute in London

M A P o f ac t ivi t ies 2 0 1 2

21 LOCATIONS St Andrews

B el f as t

Sefton

B ris t o l

S OUTH E N D - O N - S E A

E D I N B U R GH

S t A n d re w s

F o l k es t o ne

L ee d s

Glas g o w

Pen z ance

I l k le y

B irmin g h am

L iver p o o l

C o lc h es t er

L O N DO N

glasgow

edinburgh

belfast

ilkley

Manchester

Sefton

I p s w ic h

M anc h es t er

S o u t h am p t o n

Oxford

S t Helier ( J erse y )

brimingam

leeds

Liverpool Peterborough ipswich oxford

bristol

Pe t erb o r o u g h

southend-on-sea

london penzance jersey

c h a n n e l i s l a n d s

colchester

Southampton

folkestone

Polish Cultural Institute in London

T o p

Songs of Lear at THE Edinburgh Fringe An outright winner at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2012! The latest production from the Song of the Goat Theatre, which took its inspiration from Shakespeare’s King Lear, was awarded the prestigious Fringe First Award for the most innovative theatre production of the festival. It also won the Special Prize of Theatre award (an award for musical theatre performances) and the Herald Archangel award.

Macbeth at Shakespeare’s Globe Maja Kleczewska’s adaptation of Macbeth was performed at London’s Globe theatre as part of the international celebration of Shakespeare’s birthday. It was a dazzling production with echoes of David Lynch and Pedro Almodovar’s films performed by the Jan Kochanowski Theatre from Opole.

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

1 0

even t s

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

T o p

1 0

Polish Cultural Institute in London

even t s

Penderecki and Greenwood

Rainbow Park by Adam Kalinowski

This special concert as part of the Closing Night Gala of the 10th Kinoteka, celebrated the influence of Krzysztof Penderecki’s music on the compositional career of the Radiohead’s guitarist Jonny Greenwood. It featured two works from Penderecki’s avant-garde period – Polymorphia and Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima – and two of Jonny Greenwood’s recent compositions inspired by these pieces, Popcorn Superhet Receiver and 48 Responses to Polymorphia.

Commissioned by the Southbank Centre, Adam Kalinowski’s installation transformed Queen’s Walk into a rainbow-coloured play area for children and adults alike. The grey concrete was concealed by thousands of grains of sand dyed in different colours to encourage exploration of the textures, colours and patterns that emerge across the park.

The Forgetting of Proper Names

10th KINOTEKA Polish Film Festival This special anniversary edition of PCI’s flagship film project brought together the leading lights of Polish cinema. We screened internationally acclaimed films from 2011, which included debut filmmakers, new work from illustrious auteurs, award-winning screen performances, Oscar® nominees and presented exciting collaborations with visual artists and icons of the music world.

This critically acclaimed exhibition at London’s Calvert 22 Gallery showcased three young Polish artists: Woj c iech Bąkowski, Anna Molska and Agnieszka Polska. Accompanied by a series of special symposia, performances and talks, the exhibition explored the engagement of contemporary Polish art with the legacy of the Polish avant-garde and charted the ongoing self-reinvention of Poland following the collapse of Communism.

Polish Cinema Classics vol. I DVD Box Set We worked with the UK distributor Second Run DVD to launch a special edition 4-DVD box set of restored classic Polish films, which was highly praised by the critics. The set comprised: Night Train dir. Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Innocent Sorcerers dir. Andrzej Wajda, Eroica dir. Andrzej Munk, and Goodbye, See You Tomorrow dir. Janusz Morgenstern.

2012 Janusz Korczak YEAR We supported workshops, talks, theatre performances, book launches and screenings to commemorate this great Polish educator, pediatrician and children’s author. Highlights included two theatre productions based on his life and writings: Dr Korczak’s Example and Confessions of a Butterfly. At the close of the celebrations in January 2013 we will display an exhibition Korczak – Reformer of the World.

Polish bands at the London Jazz Festival Pole Position Polish Book Autumnfest The UK’s largest Polish literary event of the year. The programme of events involved 7 key writers who in just 2 months took part in 19 events at 15 venues in 10 different cities.

Composer and pianist Leszek Możdżer shared the stage with radio. string.quartet.vienna. Young Polish violinist Adam Bałdych performed with two of Europe’s leading contemporary pianists – Germany’s Michael Wollny and Finland’s Iiro Rantala. Before commencing their UK tour Jazzpospolita had their London Jazz Festival debut at Jazz Café POSK.

1__ Director Małgośka Szumowska and actress Joanna Kulig discuss “Elles” at the 10th Kinoteka Opening Gala, Photo: Elżbieta Piekacz/ Polish Cultural Institute in London.

Polish Cultural Institute in London

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

Polish Cultural Institute in London

ilm

2012 was a memorable year for film at the Polish Cultural Institute: we celebrated the 10th anniversary of one of our most successful projects, the Kinoteka Polish Film Festival; we promoted the UK releases of several Polish films; a Polish film was nominated for the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Hosted by the Polish Cultural Institute, sponsored by DFDS Seaways and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, the 10th Kinoteka Polish Film Festival took place in cinemas across London, Edinburgh and Belfast. It opened on International Women’s Day (8 March) with a special gala screening of Małgorzata Szumowska’s new film Elles with Szumowska herself introducing the film. Acclaimed director Agnieszka Holland’s Oscar-nominated In Darkness was presented at an exclusive gala screening at the Barbican Cinema (in partnership with the UK Jewish Film Festival) in the presence of our special guest Robert Więckiewicz. Promoting New Polish Cinema was the caption for a wide selection of award winning features and shorts from the previous 12 months screened at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith and Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square. The selection included Greg Zglinski’s Courage, Jacek Bromski’s suspense thriller Entanglement, Bartek Konopka’s Fear of Falling and Jana Komasa’s acclaimed Suicide Room. To celebrate Kinoteka’s 10th birthday ten world-renowned British and Polish filmmakers - Andrzej Wajda, Andrzej Żuławski, Jerzy Skolimowski, Ken Loach, Michael Nyman, Mike Leigh, Mirosław Balka, Nicolas Roeg, Paweł Pawlikowski and the Quay Brothers – were invited to select their favourite Polish films together choosing ten milestones in Polish Cinema. The selected films, which were screened as double bills at Riverside Studios,

1__

were: A Short Film About Killing, Article Zero, Ashes and Diamonds, Chips, Kanal, Knife in the Water, Nothing, Olympics, Suicide Room and The Salt of Black Earth. Kinoteka also hosted a series of events at Tate Modern and the National Gallery ewhich explored the connections between film and the visual arts. At the Tate Modern emerging visual artist Anna Polska gave a talk about the display of her seminal works and a documentary about Alina Szapocznikow directed by Hanna Włodarczyk was screened. At the National Gallery Lech Majewski’s new film The Mill & The Cross had its UK premiere.

by critics and in 2013 we are planning a second box set with another three remastered classic films. As in previous years we were proud to be partners in some of the leading UK film festivals including the London Film Festival, the Edinburgh International Film Festival the UK Jewish Film Festival, and the East End Film Festival. We also acted as part of the jury at the Leeds International Film Festival for the first time. 3__

In association with the UK Jewish Film Festival Kinoteka screened the documentary Torn at Hampstead’s Everyman Cinema. This film draws a unique portrait of the Jewish Catholic priest Romuald Jakub Weksel-Waszkiner, who was a guest at the event. For its closing night gala ceremony Kinoteka put on a concert by Krzysztof Penderecki and Jonny Greenwood, the Radiohead guitarist, radical composer and creator of film soundtrack scores, (more information in the MUSIC section). 4__

Throughout 2012 the Polish Cultural Institute continued its mission of bringing new Polish language releases to UK cinemas. We worked with UK distributors such as Metrodome (In Darkness) and Artificial Eye (Elles) and newly established Polish distributor Project London Films (You Are God). We also worked with the UK distributor Second Run DVD to launch Polish Cinema Classics, a special edition box set of 4 DVD’s of restored classic Polish films. The project was praised highly

1__Polish Cinema Classics DVD Box Set Vol. I. 2__Actor Robert Więckiewicz interviewed at the Barbican Cinema 1, Photo: Elżbieta Piekacz/ Polish Cultural Institute in London. 3__PCI’s Deputy Director Anna Godlewska introduces “In Darkness” directed by Agnieszka Holland, Photo: Elżbieta Piekacz/ Polish Cultural Institute in London. 4__Q&A session after the screening of “Torn” as part of the 10th Kinoteka, Photo: Elżbieta Piekacz/ Polish Cultural Institute in London.

2__

Polish Cultural Institute in London

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

/ C O N F E R E N C E S The year 2012 turned out to be one of the most successful seasons ever for Polish literature in the UK and featured an unprecedented number of book publications, reviews and related events. It was the result of a general surge of interest in literature in translation on the part of British readers and literary institutions and also the consequence of a few years of creative initiatives and collaborations on the part of the PCI in London, which have grounded our position as a trusted partner and reliable agent in the British literary market. In 2012 our activities were structured around several themes: an exceptionally concentrated series of book tours and associated events to promote the numerous books published in 2012 culminating in the festival Pole Position: Polish Book Autumnfest; commemorating Janusz Korczak’s life and work; and exposing to view Polish history’s position within the heritage of Europe and Britain. The list of one-off book tours and author events is long: poet Tadeusz Dąbrowski promoted his book Black Square at a series of events in London, Oxford, St Andrews and Edinburgh in November 2011, Asia Monika Bakalar promoted her hot debut Madame Mephisto in London and four locations in Yorkshire; Zygmunt Miłoszewski spoke about A Grain of Truth, the sequel to his acclaimed Entanglement, at this year’s European Literature Night in London; Sława Harasymowicz, a talented illustrator, presented her first graphic novel The Wolf Man at the Freud Museum in London; Jacek Dehnel was Poland’s representative at the Poetry Parnassus – the biggest poetry festival in the UK organised by the Southbank Centre as part of the Cultural Olympiad – and he also launched his book Saturn in Edinburgh;

the acclaimed writer Paweł Huelle talked about his anthology Cold Sea Stories at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, which also welcomed new authors Aleksandra and Daniel Mizieliński and their children’s books H.O.U.S.E. and D.E.S.I.G.N. (2011-2012); Pulitzer Prize winner Anne Applebaum presented her groundbreaking historical account Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-56 at the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies In September we launched Pole Position: Polish Book Autumnfest, the UK’s largest Polish literary event of the year. The programme of events brought together 7 key writers who in just 2 months took part in 19 events at 15 venues across 10 different cities. Authors Artur Domosławski, Paweł Huelle, Grażyna Plebanek, Magdalena Tulli, A.M. Bakalar, Zygmunt Miłoszewski and Jacek Dehnel visited London, Oxford, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Ilkley, Sefton, Folkestone and Liverpool. We worked with an array of translators (Antonia Lloyd-Jones, Danusia Stok, Bill Johnston), publishers (Verso, Comma Press, Stork Press, Bitter Lemon Press, Dedalus Books, Archipelago Books), cultural promoters (English PEN, Frontline Club, European Literature Night, Speaking Volumes, the European Commission, literary festivals in Manchester, Folkestone and Ilkley, London’s Notes & Letters Bristol’s Festival of Ideas, Liverpool’s Writing on the Wall, Merseyside Polonia, Kasia Kokowska and Interactive Writing Salon in Scotland, Dr Elwira Grossman of Glasgow University and Anna Ready) and bookshops and (Daunt Books and Belgravia Books in London, Albion Beatnik in Oxford, Blackwell’s in Edinburgh and Oxford, and Toxteth library in Liverpool).

The annual conference of the Institute for PolishJewish Studies dealt with the subject of PolishJewish-Lithuanian relations and was organised in partnership with the Lithuanian Embassy. Within the framework of the 2012 Korczak Year we supported workshops, talks, theatre performances, book launches and screenings devoted to this great educator and writer. At the close of the celebrations in January 2013 we displayed an exhibition Korczak – Reformer of the World at the London headquarters of the European Commission Representation in the UK and invited a special guest Marek Michalak, Children’s Ombudsman of the Republic of Poland (more about Korczak Year in the THEATRE section).

Polish Cultural Institute in London

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

1__

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

Polish Cultural Institute in London

2__

3__

4__

Krzysztof Penderecki and Jonny Greenwood’s concert at the Barbican Centre in London on 22 March was one of the most important UK music events of 2012. This special concert on the theme of Krzysztof Penderecki’s influence on the Radiohead guitarist’s composing career formed part of the closing night gala of the 10th Kinoteka Polish Film Festival. Backed by innovative video and lighting design, it featured two works from Penderecki’s avant-garde period – Polymorphia and Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima – and two of Greenwood’s recent compositions inspired by these pieces, Popcorn Superhet Receiver and 48 Responses to Polymorphia. Polish music has long been a prominent part of the UK music festival scene and 2012 was no exception. The punk band R.U.T.A., with their fresh take on old Polish folk and revolutionary songs, opened one of this year’s leading world music festivals, Songlines Encounters, at London’s Kings Place. This celebration of Polish music in the UK also reached new heights with Polish jazz and experimental music dominating the jazz scene in London and across the UK. A major new initiative for 2012, Jazz in the New Europe, brought together established artists and up-andcoming musicians. At the London Jazz Festival composer and pianist Leszek Możdżer shared the stage with radio.string.quartet.vienna and young Polish violinist Adam Bałdych performed with two of Europe’s leading contemporary pianists, Germany’s Michael Wollny and Finland’s Iiro Rantala. before commencing their UK tour Jazzpospolita had their London Jazz Festival debut at Jazz Café POSK.

The second Polish Jazz and Experimental Music festival also took place in London. Live performances, soundwalks, field recording sessions, workshops and exhibitions by artists including Hubert Zemler, Marcin Masecki, the Postaremczak and Kusiolek duo, Rafal Mazur and ParisTetris showed off the cutting edge of Polish jazz and experimental music. The Polish Cultural Institute has also participated in the EUNIC London project Inspired by Debussy which encouraged young composers to create new works to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Claude Debussy’s birth. The Polish Cultural Institute commissioned a piece by Dobromiła Jaskot, a talented up-and-coming Polish composer, for this project. Her Aeshna for violin, cello, clarinet and piano, performed by the British classical ensemble Mercury Quartet, received its world premiere at Kings Place during a special finale concert.

1__Paristetris at Jazz & Experimental Music from Poland, Photo: Jakub Wittchen. 2__RUTA, Photo: Bartek Muracki. 3__Mercury Quartet performs “Aeshna” composed by Dobromiła Jaskot. 4__Krzysztof Penderecki conducts the AUKSO Orchestra.

Polish Cultural Institute in London

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

V I S U A L A R T S / FA S H I O N / D E S I G N The year 2012 was another successful one for Polish visual arts in the UK and events involving the Polish Cultural Institute. It began with Marcin Dudek’s Winter Pavilion – the Screen House, a site-specific installation in the heart of Hackney, commissioned by Waterside Contemporary. Aa critically acclaimed exhibition of contemporary Polish art The Forgetting of Proper Names, was displayed at Calvert 22 Gallery in London. Curated by Dominik Czechowski and Lina Džuverović, it showcased three upand-coming young Polish artists, Wojciech Bąkowski, Anna Molska and Agnieszka Polska and was accompanied by a series of special symposia, performances and talks. The exhibition explored the engagement of contemporary Polish art with the legacy of the Polish avant-garde and charted the ongoing selfreinvention of Poland following the collapse of Communism. Video works by Agnieszka Polska was also screened at the Tate Modern together with films about Alina Szapocznikow during the 10th Kinoteka Polish Film Festival. Due to the initiative of the Polish Cultural Institute fashion label La Mania was chosen by the British Council to represent Poland at the International Fashion Showcase held at the Royal Academy of Arts in early 2012. This show was a tremendous success, as was the exhibition at the Royal Opera Arcade Gallery, and they received significant media coverage including articles published by Grazia and Vogue UK. The Polish-Swiss duo Maria Jeglińska and Livia Lauber came up with the concept of an exhibition-within-an-exhibition and Studio Insights: The Wonder Cabinets of Europe, which was backed by the Polish Cultural Institute, was one of the highlights of the London Design

1__

created an installation and performance drawing on a tradition of invoking ghosts.

Festival 2012. Lauber and Jeglińska invited six designers to showcase their work and their working methods in cabinets inspired by sixteenth century cabinets of curiosities. Two large-scale installations for sites in central London were produced by Polish artists for the 2012 Olympics. Adam Kalinowski’s Rainbow Park, commissioned by the Southbank Centre, transformed Queen’s Walk into a rainbowcoloured play area for children and adults alike. Robert Koenig’s Odyssey transformed the grounds of St Martin-in-the-Fields church: it was a display of 39 2.5m high figures carved from lime trees from Dominikowice, his mother’s home village in south-eastern Poland. During 2012 the Polish Cultural Institute developed an exciting and fruitful new partnership with London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts. In February a one-day retrospective of Polish avant-garde artists Franciszka and Stefan Themerson called The Themersons: 1 Day Before Yesterday – 1 Day After Tomorrow was shown at the ICA. In the summer the ICA presented a solo exhibition of Warsawbased artist Piotr Janas. His paintings draw on the traditions of surrealism and constructivism, in particular he work of Francis Bacon and Paul Thek. A catalogue complementing the exhibition was published in conjunction with the Polish Cultural Institute and launched during the Frieze Art Fair. We also supported the Polish art gallery Raster’s show of Michał Budny’s work at the Frieze Art Fair. At London’s Barbican Centre the Polish Cultural Institute co-curated the multimedia event Barbican: After Dark Halloween Special, which featured the work of young Polish performance artist Oskar Chmioła. For this event Chmioła

Polish Cultural Institute in London

Outside the capital the 7th Liverpool Biennial, which is the UK’s largest festival of contemporary art, showed Unwanted Visitors a series of works by both up-and-coming and established Polish artists. It was curated by Łaźnia Centre for Contemporary Art from Gdańsk and included work by Yael Bartana, Oskar Hansen, Alicja Karska and Aleksandra Went, Janek Simon, Kama Sokolnicka and Robert Kuśmirowski. 2__ 3__

1__An evening dress designed by La Mania showcased at the “Fairytale La Mania” exhibition, Photo: La Mania. 2__Paweł Janas at the ICA installation view, courtesy ICA and the artist. 3__“The Forgetting of Proper Names” installation view, courtesy Calvert 22 Foundation, Photo: Stephen White. 4__“Unwanted Visitors” installation view, courtesy Centre for Contemporary Art Łaźnia, Photo: Mark McNulty.

4__

Polish Cultural Institute in London

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

The Globe to Globe Festival, which was an international celebration of Shakespeare’s birthday at London’s Globe Theatre, marked one of Polish theatre’s biggest successes in the UK in 2012. For the first time ever 37 international performed presented all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays using 37 different languages during a sixweek period. Maja Kleczewska represented Poland with her adaptation of Macbeth, a dazzling production with echoes of David Lynch and Pedro Almodovar’s films. It was performed by the Kochanowski Theatre. The Polish celebration of Shakespeare in 2012 continued with The Theatre of Two Times, an exhibition about the latest architectural development of Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre, which was held at King’s College, London as part of the 2012 Arts and Humanities Festival, Metamorphoses: Transformations and Conversions. The exhibition opened with a panel of distinguished speakers including theatre architect Renato Rizzi, theatre directors Jerzy Limon, Farah Karim-Cooper, Ollie Jones and Ann Thompson. The panel discussed the prospects for reconstructing an Elizabethanstyle theatre in Gdańsk. The Polish Cultural Institute supported Polska Arts at the Edinburgh Festival in the summer of 2012. This was a multi-arts celebration of Polish culture organised by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. In co-operation with the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Edinburgh Art Festival, the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival and the Edinburgh International Festival Polska Arts presented the latest in Polish theatre, visual arts, music, dance and cinema at Scotland’s largest annual arts festival. Polish theatre companies featured at the Fringe included KTO Theatre, Theatre ZAR, komuna//Warszawa and Biuro

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

Polish Cultural Institute in London

1__

Podróży Theatre. The Polish Cultural Institute provided financial support to the outright winner of the festival, Song of the Goat Theatre for their latest production Songs of Lear. It was awarded the prestigious Fringe First Award for the most innovative theatre production of the festival. In addition the performance received the Special Prize of Theatre award (a special award for musical theatre performances) and the Herald Archangel award. At the Fringe PCI also supported Aurea Porta Theatre’s Era Schaeffera, an interactive, audio-visual, multi-media performance celebrating the 80th birthday of Poland’s acclaimed composer, playwright and philosopher, Bogusław Schaeffer.

Poland and Polish stories increasingly inspire British writers and British theatre companies. Besides the above-mentioned Korczak themed productions 2012 was also notable for Nicola Werenowska’s highly successful Here and Now which was performed at Hampstead Theatre in London, Mercury Theatre in Colchester and Nuffield Theatre in Southampton. This moving, intelligent play deals with the complex issues surrounding Polish immigration to the UK in relation to family loyalties, sense of identity and inter-generational conflicts.

2__

3__

Polish successes stretched beyond the Edinburgh Fringe as TR Warszawa’s highly acclaimed production 2008: Macbeth directed by Grzegorz Jarzyna was one of the highlights of the Edinburgh International Festival. The Polish Cultural Institute also promoted Jarzyna’s latest production Nosferatu, which received its UK premiere at the Barbican Theatre in the autumn. In 2012 the Polish Cultural Institute commemorated Janusz Korczak, the Polish educator, pediatrician and children’s author, by supporting two productions based on his life and writing. David Greig’s play for children and young adults Dr Korczak’s Example which was directed by Ria Parry had a successful short run at the Unicorn Theatre in Southwark. The Institute also helped produce an interactive learning resource pack about Korczak for schools which is now available online. Jonathan Salt’s Confessions of a Butterfly, performed at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre in Camden, made the story of Korczak accessible to older audiences.

4__

1__Actor Sam Swann performs in “Dr. Korczak’s Example” directed by Ria Parry, Photo: Robert Day. 2__Jonathan Salt as Dr. Janusz Korczak in “Confessions of a Butterfly” directed by Jonathan Salt, Photo: Ojemba Productions. 3__“ Macbeth” directed by Maja Kleczewska at the Shakespeare’s Globe, courtesy Shakespeare’s Globe and Kochanowski Theatre from Opole. 4__Architectural model of the future Gdansk Shakespeare Theatre.

Polish Cultural Institute in London

OU R 2 0 1 1

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

P A R T N E R S – 2 0 1 2

_100% Design London _3rdEye _30 Birds Production _ 50 Shades of Green Irish Film Festival _ABAKE _Abandon Normal Devices Festival _Adam Mickiewicz Institute _Ad Arte Foundation _Albion Beatnik Bookshop _Alpha-ville Festival _Andrzej Wajda Film School _Anglo-Polish Society Bristol _Animated Exeter _ Arnolfini Centre for Contemporary Arts in Bristol _Arte Dei Suonatori _Arteria _Artichoke _Artificial Eye _Artlinks _Arts Admin _Arts Council _ArtsEkta _Arcola Theatre _Apples & Snakes _AudioTong _Aurea Porta Foundation _Baillie Gifford _Baltic Restaurant _Barbican _BBC Proms _Belfast Exposed _Beslfast Festival at Queen’s _Belgravia Books _Belka productions _Belsize Synagogue _BFI London Film Festival _BFI Southbank _Bitter Lemon Press _Black Dog Press

_ Blackwell Bookshop Edinburgh and Oxford _Bookworks _Brief Encounters Film Festival _British Centre for Literary Translation _British Academy _British Library _Bristol City Council _Bristol Old Vic _Broadway 1602 _Cafe OTO _Calvert 22 _Cambridge University _Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival _ Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design _ Centre for Contemporary Art Łaźnia in Gdańsk _Chór Polskiego Radia w Krakowie _City Academy Bristol _Click Academy _Comma Press _Cooltura Polish Weekly Magazine _ Community Relations Council Belfast _ Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Edinburgh _Cork Street Gallery _Courtauld Institute _Curzon Soho _Dalkey Archive Press _DanceBase _Daunt Books _Deconstruction Project _Dedalus Books _Department of Jewish Studies UCL _Devonia Concert Series _DFDS Seaways _Dziennik Polski _East End Film Festival

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

_EBRD _Edinburgh City Council _Edinburgh Festival Fringe _Edinburgh International Book Festival _Edinburgh International Festival _Edinburgh International Film Festival _Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop _Elondyn.co.uk _ Embassy of the Republic of Poland in the United Kingdom _Emito.net _Enfield Council _English National Opera _English PEN _event-factory _Everyman Hampstead _EUNIC London _European Commission _ European Commission Representation in the UK _Exeter City Council _Exeter Film Society _Exeter Phoenix _Exeter Polish Culture Society _Exeter.pl _Exclusive Media Group _FACT _Filmhouse Cinema in Edinburgh _Filmoteka Narodowa _Finder Keepers Records _Foksal Gallery Foundation _Folkestone Book Festival _Foyle’s _Free Word Centre _Freud Museum _Frontline Club _Fun Kids Radio _ Fundacja Wydań Narodowych Dzieł Fryderyka Chopina _Gabrieli Consort & Players _ Gdansk Shakespeare Theatre GFTA Big Dance _ Glasgow Centre for Contemporary Arts _Glasgow Film Theatre _Glasgow University _Goldsmiths College _Goniec Polski _Greenwich Theatre _Grupa Coincidentia

Polish Cultural Institute in London

_Guerilla Science _Guildhall School of Music and Drama _Hampstead Theatre _Haringey Arts Company _Hay Festival _Hayward Gallery _Heavy Entertainment _Herefordshire Council _Hinckley Music Club _Hotch Potch Manchester _ Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival _Hungry Arts _Ikon Arts _ Institute for Polish-Jewish Studies _Institute of Contemporary Arts London _ Interaktywny Salon Piszących w Szkocji _Ilkley Literature Festival _Jan Kochanowski Theatre from Opole _Jazz Café POSK _Jazztopad _Jersey Eisteddfod _Joseph Conrad Society in London _Karnas Music _King’s College London _ King’s College London Arts and Humanities Festival 2012 _King’s Place _Konsulat Honorowy na wyspie Jersey _Krakowska Fundacja Filmowa _Kresy Siberia _La Mania _Leeds International Film Festival _Liverpool Biennial _Lokal_30 _London Design Festival _London Festival of Architecture _London Film Academy _ London International Animation Film Festival _ London International Documentary Festival _London Jazz Festival _London Musicians Collective _London Science Festival _ London School of Economics Festival Space for Thought _Londynek.net

Polish Cultural Institute in London

OU R 2 0 1 1

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

P A R T N E R S – 2 0 1 2

_Lumiere Festival _Lyric Theatre Belfast _Maintenant, London _Manchester Literature Festival _Match and Fuse _Matt’s Gallery _Mayfair Library London _McDonald Road Library _Merseyside Polonia _Metrodome _Mile End Art Pavilion _ Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland _Mojawyspa.co.uk _Momo-Kaki Orphans Fund _MoviewScope Magazine _Muzeum Kinematografii _Muzeum Plakatu w Wilanowie _ Muzeum Sztuki Nowoczesnej w Warszawie _National School Film Week _neTTheatre _New Europe Sales _New Movement Collective _New Moves New Territories Festival _NInA _Nonesuch Records _Notes and Letters Festival _Nottingham Playhouse _ Nottingham European Arts & Theatre Festival _Nowy Czas _OFF_Press _Ojemba Productions _Open City Documentary Film Festival _Orła FM _Oxford Contemporary _Oxshott and Cobham Music Society _Panorama _Parasol Unit _Poems on the Underground

_Poet in the City _Police Service of Northern Ireland _Polish Arts Festival _Polish Book Institute _ Polish Cultural Festival Association _Polish Cultural Week Belfast _Polish Express _Polish Film Institute _Polish Heritage Society _Polish Music and Dance Institute _Polish Radio London _Polish Television TVP S.A. _Polish Theatre Institute _Polish Women Film Directors _Polkadot.pl _Pollok House Arts Society _Polska Platforma Tańca _Polskie Centrum Informacji Muzycznej _Polskie Radio dla Zagranicy _Atelier Polski Teatr Tańca _Pop Up Gallery _Portobello Books _POSK _Powys Arts Forum _Prince Charles Cinema _Project London Films _Prospect Film _Pushkin House _Queen’s Film Theatre Belfast _Rambert Dance Company _Raster Gallery _Red Barn Gallery _Renoir Cinema _ResonanceFm _Riverside Studios _Roxy Bar and Screen _Royal College of Art _Royal Observatory in Greenwich _Royal Philharmonic Orchestra _Sansom&Company

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

_Second Run DVD _Secret Garden Productions _Serious _Serpentine Gallery _ School of Slavonic and East European Studies UCL _Science Musem _ School of Architecture, Design and Environment, University of Plymouoth _Scotsbarszcz _Scottish Poetry Library _SelfMadeHero _Signum Records _Shakespeare’s Globe _Sheffield Doc Fest _Short Waves _Song of the Goat Theatre _Songlines Encounters Festival _Songlines Magazine _Sottovoce Festival _Sound and Music _Sounds New Festival _Sounds Right Partnership _Southbank Centre _Southend-on-Sea City Council _ Speaking Volumes Live Literature Productions _Spike Island _Spiro Ark _Spitalfields Music Festival _ StAnza Scotland’s Poetry Festival, St Andrews _Stary Browar Nowy Taniec _Stork Press _Summerhall _Supplement Gallery _Sutton Valence Music Society _ T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival _Tate Modern _Teatr Biuro Podróży _Teatr Nowy w Poznaniu _Tete a Tete Festival _The Birmingham Book Festival _The Chopin Society London _The Courtauld Institute of Art _The Falmouth Convention _ The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation

Polish Cultural Institute in London

_The House of Fairy Tales _The John Rylands Library _The National Gallery _The Penzance Convention _The Place _The Polish Observer _The Wapping Project _The Wire _Time Out London Magazine _Times Literary Supplement _Timof Comics _Tipofyourtongue _Toccata Classics _Topolski Estate _TR Warszawa _Transport for London _Tricycle Cinema _TVPL.tv _UCL European Institute _UK Jewish Film _Ulster Museum _Unicorn Theatre _United Creativity _Universal Arts _University of Brighton _University of Cambridge _University College London _University of Glasgow _University of Kent _University of Manchester _Verso _Wallington Chameleon Arts _Warsaw Boys Choir _Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra _Watershed Bristol _Waterside Contemporary _West London Synagogue _Westminster City Council _Whitechapel Gallery _Winged Lion _WORK Gallery _Writing on the Wall Festival _ Wrocław Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra _ Wydział Architektury Politechniki Gdańskiej _Zephyr Press _Zero Books

Polish Cultural Institute in London

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

OU R Team 2 0 1 1 / 1 2

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12

Polish Cultural Institute in London

M arlena Ł ukasiak H e a d o f F i l m Starred in a reality show called Ilyan and Elyas attack, Journalism and Political Science and Arts Management and Film and Culture Studies graduate. Places to meet Marlena: Highgate Woods, strawberry fields, trying to cross the Saudi Arabian border sporting nothing but a swimming suit. Recent success: organising the 10th Kinoteka Polish Film Festival. /

M agda R acz y ń ska R oland C hojnacki D i r e c t o r Diplomat, specialist in literature and linguistics, known for his passion for Northern European cinema (Aki Kaurismäki) and southern European languages and cuisine – especially Romanian. Roland is the founder of the Polish Institute in Bucharest and also worked for PI in Budapest. Despite his chock-a-block schedule he always finds time for exotic journeys e.g. visiting Isafjör∂ur or Bhutan. Recent success: surviving production meetings with his team every week; completing an Icelandic language course. /

A nna G odlewska D e p u t y D i r e c t o r Curatorial Studies graduate, Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland. You can always count on Anna when you need someone to whistle Mendelssohn’s Wedding March or if you have a spare slow-cooked carp with almonds and raisins to give away. Anna’s favourite place in London is Chelsea Physic Garden where you can find her reading Patrick Süskind’s essays. Recent success: mastering Twitter. /

A gnieszka C iepłucha P r o j e c t A s s i s t a n t a n d S e c r e t a r y (Executive Secretary, Project Assistant and in-house Graphic Designer), Birkbeck Arts Management and Policy graduate, unfulfilled surfer (suffered the embarassment of a baywatch rescue), unfulfilled snowboarder (moved to UK), unfulfilled oceanographer (no oceans in Poland). Brazilian at heart, flâneuse by nature, princess by choice. Recent success: kissing Jonny Greenwood on stage. /

A nna G ruszka , H e a d o f M u s i c a n d T h e a t r e Graduate of Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan and University College London. Anna used to work for the PCI as Acting Head of Film and took over the organisation of the Kinoteka Polish Film Festival in 2011. Educated to be a sociologist and art critic but at heart a writer-to-be. When forced to she plays piano and guitar. Recent success: learning Czech in 10 months.

H e a d o f L i t e r a t u r e Studied Sociology at Warsaw University and Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths College, a writer, blogger, avid promoter of everything to do with books and full-time mother of Maja, 3. Passionate about literature in translation: Magda has successfully established close ties with authors, publishers, book festival organisers and the worldwide online book community. To make friends with Magda: a) talk Charlie & Lola trivia, b) do not offer her grappa on a slope, c) meet on Hampstead Heath rather than at the PCI office. Recent success: major Polish writers’ UK tour in 2012. /

D ariusz T omaszewski P C I L o g i s t i c s M a s t e r m i n d and on-call expert on the trivia of life. While off duty Darek has his nose in the New Scientist. Darek likes: cooking lunch in the office and provoking jealousy among his colleagues, visiting all five London airports in one afternoon, racing against time. As and when necessary Darek can stretch his day to well beyond 24 hours!!! twenty-four hours can extend eternally. Recent success: mastering all-wheel-drive teleportation.

F o r m e r P C I T e a m M e mb e r s : A nna B łasiak w o r k e d f o r t h e P C I a s A c t i n g H e a d o f L i t e r a t u r e Translator and poet. In her free time Anna likes driving from England to Italy and back with a carload of Parmesan cheese. Her phobias are Geneva, predictable theatre and haggis. Recent success: living a quiet, chilled-out life in London. /

P aweł K ami ń ski w o r k e d f o r P C I a s H e a d o f M u s i c a n d T h e a t r e . The man behind the major PCI event of 2012 – the Penderecki/Greenwood concert at the Barbican. Cooking enthusiast, the most ferocious enemy of carpets and pigeons. Paweł is considering a career as a lumberjack in Canada. Recent success: NOT kissing Jonny Greenwood on stage. /

K arolina K ołodziej H e a d o f P u b l i c R e l a t i o n s Goldsmiths College Contemporary Art Theory graduate. Karolina claims to have the gift of predicting future events (a very useful tool at work). Places to bump into Karolina: in a Hampstead Heath pond (despite her phobia of sea monsters), on her bike and snowboarding in the Alps. Recent success: completing the Spartan Race, a 5 km obstacle run for fitness freaks.

E wa P lesnar w o r k e d f o r t h e P C I a s E x e c u t i v e S e c r e t a r y As she is a lawyer Ewa was a source of legal advice for the rest of the team. Although she’s friendly, Ewa is very competitive. She enjoys rock climbing, jazz and classic literature. She is known for constantly chasing her dreams. Recent success: having completed her second Master’s degree at King’s College London she now works as an international tax adviser. /

A nna T r y c - B romle y P aulina L atham H e a d o f E v e n t s University of East London Visual Art Theories graduate, ex-New York model, award-winning script writer, science enthusiast, occasional horse rider and seeker of thrills. Daydreamer by choice. You can meet Paulina roller-skating in Hyde Park or sipping elderflower water at the top of the Gherkin. Recent success: Paulina created and produced the RobotvilleEU festival at the Science Museum.

w o r k e d f o r t h e P C I a s D e p u t y D i r e c t o r Transferred to New Delhi, India, Anna has been appointed a Director of the newly opened Polish Cultural Institute there. Before starting her career in cultural diplomacy Anna travelled around Latin America and Africa where she volunteered for the Cheetah Conservation Fund. She documented the experience in her book Zapach Afryki. Recent success: mastering tennis techniques.

Polish Cultural Institute in London

Polish Cultural Institute in London Swan House 52/53 Poland Street London W1F 7LX United Kingdom T: (+44) 203 206 2004 www.PolishCulture.org.uk Twitter: @PLInst_London Facebook: polishinstitutelondon Concept & Project Management: Karolina Kołodziej, Head of Public Relations, Polish Cultural Institute Design: Polkadot Studio Graficzne / WWW.POLKADOT.COM.PL Editors: Tul’si Bhambry,Emilia Borowska,Katarzyna Beresford

BIENNIAL Report 2011/12