Art Lessons - Online

2020 was a time of global change – the COVID-19 pandemic meant that our planned activities were significantly limited by the need to adhere to sanitary guidelines and limits on the number of people allowed to attend live events. The global crisis and the new reality our team had to navigate motivated us to find a new format for "Art Lessons" and explore how we could implement the project online.

 

The slogan guiding the pandemic installment of the project, "Online," referred on the one hand to the digital world and the distribution of audiovisual materials online – a trend that accelerated in the first half of 2020 – and on the other, symbolized the creation of a support network within the artistic and cultural community during a challenging time. We divided the online edition of "Art Lessons" into two parts: "Herstorie Sztuki" (Art Herstories) – a series of four meetings with female artists and designers (it's no coincidence that the word "art" is feminine in Polish), and "Art and the City" – a series presenting artistic and design activities that exist in a strong relationship with the urban public space we so desperately missed in 2020.

photo: Emila Gumańska

All films created as part of this project are available in Polish on the Ładne Historie Foundation's YouTube channel. You can also watch the films at "Art Lessons" profile on Facebook.

 

Each of the films we prepare is translated into Polish Sign Language.

 

Each of the videos we have prepared has been published under a Creative Commons license – Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). This means each film can be copied and distributed in any medium and format, remixed and adapted, with attribution always maintained and for non-commercial purposes only.

 

The „Art Lessons” project was implemented thanks to funding from:

 

Herstories of art:

graphic design: Emila Gumańska

 

„"Herstories of Art" is the first series of "Art Lessons" online, which debuted online in September 2020. Through four mini-films, we presented the stories of female artists and designers, inviting our audiences into the spaces where Natalia Jerzak, Beata Rojek, Alicja Patanowska, and Karolina Balcer create.

Natalia Jerzak

 

A graduate of the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław, she received a scholarship from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage for her master's thesis, "Contemporary Textile Printing in Poland," and won the "30 Creative People of Wrocław" award. She draws, designs, and prints to dress people in her patterns. She initiated the "SitoOgrodnicy" project at MiserArt, a screen printing studio created in collaboration with individuals who have experienced homelessness. Her fabric collection, "Polskie Lato," printed with SitoOgrodnicy, was presented in September 2017 in the Polish Pavilion at the international design fair "London Design Fair." Like Wanda Telakowska, her goal is to create socially engaged art. She is a sports enthusiast, especially cycling!

Beata Rojek

 

A graduate of the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław, she earned a diploma with distinction in easel painting from the studio of Marian Waldemar Kuczma, Ph.D., and a diploma in multimedia from the studio of Prof. Paweł Jarodzki. She works primarily as a painter, illustrator, and animator, but also creates large-scale paintings and installations as a illustrator and animator. She won the BWA Wrocław Director's Award at the 2013 Geppert Competition.

Alicja Patanowska

 

A potter and designer, she graduated from the Faculty of Ceramics and Glass at the Royal College of Art in London and from Ceramic Design at the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław. Craftsmanship is key to her artistic and design practice, creating through manual experimentation with materials. Her response to the escalating chaos of consumption is work grounded in personal engagement with the product creation process. She has won awards including the Franz Award, the Mazda Design Award, and the British Glass Biennale. Her work is part of art and design collections at venues including the Shanghai Museum of Glass. Her products are available at Merci in Paris, the Deutsche Bank Kunsthalle in Berlin, the Barbican Center, and the TATE Modern in London. She has participated in over 100 exhibitions worldwide, including in the UK, Denmark, Ireland, Korea, Germany, Azerbaijan, Sweden, Finland, China, and Brazil.

Karolina Balcer

 

A graduate of the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław, she majored in painting and multimedia. Her graduation project, titled "Technical Block," was recognized as the Diploma of the Year at the Department of Painting and won awards such as the Audience Award at the 4th "Fresh Blood" Young Art Festival, the Marshal of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Award, and the Format art magazine award at the 24th "Promocje" festival in Legnica. She is a winner of the Fresh Zone competition at the ArtBoom festival in Krakow and has participated in numerous art festivals, including the Wro Media ART Biennale, Bielska Jesień, the 14th Survival Contemporary Art Festival, the Artloop Festival, the Out of Sth Outdoor Art Biennale, and the Open Triennale in Orońsko. She works with painting, video, and creates installations in public spaces. Her work demonstrates a keen sensitivity to architecture as a tool for organizing social life.

Art and the city:

graphic design: Emila Gumańska

 

The second series created as part of the project was "Art and the City" – this series debuted online in October 2020.

Zakwas Studio | Dominika Kulczyńska, Mateusz Peringer

 

A project carried out by the Zakwas Social Cooperative, initiated in 2018 by the design duo of Dominika Kulczyńska and Mateusz Peringer. The pair decided to establish a cooperative studio because they valued building shared responsibility and a sense of agency in social relationships. Zakwas is a ceramics studio, sewing room, and design space exploring the possibilities of reusing plastics. The studio's core activity is ceramics, based on traditional production methods supported by new technologies. Zakwas also focuses on environmental education and the reintegration of people at risk of professional exclusion. In 2020, invited by curator Agata Nowak, they co-created MANUBA, a limited-edition, artisanal product collection for Gdynia Design Days.

Kamila Mróz

 

A graduate of the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław, she earned a Master's degree from the Faculty of Ceramics and Glass, specializing in Glass Design (2013). The applied portion of her Master's degree represented the university at the 2013 Exhibition of the Best Design Diploma Projects from Academies of Fine Arts and received the Award of the Marshal of the Silesian Voivodeship. This work was also presented at the International Review of the Best Diploma Projects at Cieszyn Castle and during the Budapest Design Weekend in 2014. She is a recipient of awards including: EGE – European Glass Experience competition 2014 (exhibitions in Spain, Portugal, and Italy), "European Glass Context 2016" – Bornholm Art Museum in Denmark, "International Biennale of glass Bulgaria 2017," and "Milano Vetro 35 Competition" in Italy, 2018. From 2014 to 2016, she ran her own glass studio – 550 Degrees Studio, whose activities focused primarily on the design and production of modern jewelry and conducting workshops on working with glass in a torch flame. In October 2018, she began doctoral studies at her alma mater. She is currently focused on researching plasma discharges in noble gases and their use as a new medium for applied art.

Traffic Design | Małgorzata Bujak, Eugenia Tynna

 

A multidisciplinary design team engaged in comprehensive work in the fields of art and design in public spaces, as well as placemaking, event management, and cultural events. They conduct research and animation activities aimed at exploring the character and identity of urban spaces. They translate urban inspirations into visual identity designs, creative marketing strategies, and surprising cross-industry projects. They utilize their knowledge and experience to collaborate with both the public and private sectors, sharing this knowledge during workshops, lectures, and educational walks. They believe that good spaces make users happy.

GOLD KIOSK | Magdalena Kreis, Yuriy Biley

 

An independent exhibition space located in Wrocław, in one of the courtyards in the Ołbin district. This 2.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 m space accommodates and invites individual viewing. The artists who will be exhibiting their work are selected based on recommendations. The artist currently present at the GOLDEN KIOSK selects three artists, of whom one is chosen. This creates a sort of relay race, a golden chain. In addition to openings, the GOLDEN KIOSK operates on an "open on demand" basis. The GOLDEN KIOSK operates thanks to the commitment and resources of its members. During the project, the exhibitions were financed by the Rewizja project group, which was also responsible for funding the facility. Currently, Magdalena Kreis and Yuriy Biley are continuing their independent exhibition initiative under the new name: NEW GOLDEN KIOSK.

As part of the project, we also conducted two discussions with the heroes and heroines of our films – you can find them on our YouTube channel and on Facebook profile.