What makes a neighborhood ours? What influence do history and architecture have on local identity? Can you live well in "badly born" houses? We invite you to a meeting with Filip Springer, a writer and photographer who has been reporting on Polish architecture for years.
During our meeting with Filip Springer, we will discuss memory, architecture, and the stories recorded in the places where we live. Drawing on the author's books, we will consider how to read the "landscape" around us. We will examine prefab apartment buildings – their grim past, everyday life, and the potential for building neighborly relationships. We will consider whether a housing estate can become a small homeland and how literature helps uncover local histories and build a sense of community. We will attempt to weave the surroundings of the meeting venue, Nowy Dwór in Wrocław, into all of this.
- When? November 17, 2026, 6:00 PM.
- Where? Nowy Pafawag Cultural Center, Chociebuska Street 8-10 in Wrocław (Nowy Dwór estate).
- Participation in the event is free and does not require prior registration.
Filip Springer, a writer and photographer, will be our guest, as well as yours. He is the author of numerous reportage series and books, including "Miedzianka: The Story of a Disappearance," "Wana z Kolonadą," "13 Storeys," "Miasto Archipelag," and "Born Wrong." He has received scholarships from the National Centre for Culture, the Ryszard Kapuściński Herodotus Foundation, and the City of Warsaw. He has been nominated for Poland's most important literary awards. His books have been translated into English, German, Russian, Czech, and Hungarian, with a Chinese translation in the works. He collaborates with the Institute of Reportage in Warsaw and is co-founder of the MiedziankaFest and Miedzianka po drodze literary festivals. In June 2024, his book "I Don't Know" was published by Dowody Publishing House. In September of the same year, "Gray Hour: Time for New Architecture" was released by Karakter Publishing House.
The conversation will be led by Arkadiusz Krajewski, a native of Żmigród and a resident of Wrocław by choice. In his free time, he explores the city on foot and by bike, and as a graduate of the School of Neighborhood Walks, he guides people through the neighborhoods of the Fabryczna district—most often Nowy Dwór, where he lives. He is fascinated by the city, its history, and its complex identity.
The event is part of the project "Communities: literature as a tool of locality", which is jointly implemented by Fundacja Ładne Historie, Tadeusz Różewicz Municipal Public Library in Wrocław and Nowy Pafawag Cultural Center.
Communities is a continuation of a project initiated in 2025 by the Tadeusz Różewicz Municipal Public Library in Wrocław, which we implemented in partnership with the Nowy Pafawag Cultural Center. The first edition allowed us to test various ways of connecting literature with locality, memory, and neighborhood activities, and above all, to build cooperation between three organizations and institutions operating close to local communities. In 2026, we are expanding this model: we are expanding the program, building on the experience of the first edition, and jointly developing further activities demonstrating that books can be a good starting point for learning about a place, its history, and the people who shape it.
The project "Communities: literature as a tool of locality" was co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund – a state special-purpose fund.
