23.11, Friday, 18.30, Hungarian Cultural Institute in Warsaw, ul. Moniuszki 10
VOID IN THE CITY. Lecture by Levente Polyák
In the frame of SYNCHRONICITY 2012: GLORY OF THE CITY
http://funbec.eu/english.php
LEVENTE POLYAK: VACANT CITY / WOLNE MIASTO PART 1/2 from Fundacja Bęc Zmiana on Vimeo.
LEVENTE POLYAK: VAKANT CITY / WOLNE MIASTO PART 2/2 from Fundacja Bęc Zmiana on Vimeo.
This year’s edition of the cycle Synchronisation pivots around promotion of cities through architecture. Our case study is Warsaw – promoted as the city of empty spaces, tempting investors with the promise of architecture they will be able to raise here, reaching at the same time high returns on their investments – city packed with new office towers and attracting tourists with (contemporary) historic monuments as well as exuberant sports infrastructure. Yet, for the last ten years, since the launch of Bęc Zmiana Foundation, we have observed an increasing grassroots interest in the city and architecture, awakening of urban movements, research on social phenomena in the city, knowledge-based activities initiated by enthusiasts, often without any institutional background, but with a firm foundation of a true will to learn about their local environment.
Therefore, our proposed perspective formulates a different vision of promoting the city – reaching inwards and tapping into the power of the inhabitants, who create their own city, as well as embracing the oeuvre of Warsaw architects, which is highly significant but, sadly enough, familiar only to a narrow circle of experts. We propose a narration about the city based on a local anecdote, presenting Warsaw as an ideal testing ground for visionary and experimental initiatives – we want it to overshadow the empty promotion slogans, packed with adjectives applicable to any city in the world and drawing on a superficial grasp of history. Our exhibition presents the elements from the past which we regard as influential or potentially influential in the city’s present. The show points at the official image of the city-company, shaped at international investment fairs, and predicts which of the mechanisms observed currently in Warsaw will prove essential for its future shape.
SYNCHRONICITY 2012: GLORY OF THE CITY / SUMMARY EXHIBITION
opening: 22.11, Thu, 19.00, time: until 30.12.2012
venue: Warsaw, PaństwoMiasto, ul. gen. Andersa 29
curators: Małgorzata Kuciewicz, Jakub Szczęsny, Bogna Świątkowska
www.synchronicity.pl
COLLATERAL EVENTS:
23.11, Friday, 18.30, Hungarian Cultural Institute in Warsaw, ul. Moniuszki 10
VOID IN THE CITY. Lecture by Levente Polyák
26.11, Monday, 18.30, PaństwoMiasto, ul. Andersa 29
GRAND SCALE VISION. Meeting with architect Jacek Damięcki
7.12, Friday, 18.30, Hungarian Cultural Institute in Warsaw, ul. Moniuszki 10
ARCHIFILM. Central European architectural film circulation network. Screenings
10.12, Monday, 18.30, PaństwoMiasto, ul. Andersa 29
IDEAL CITY. Discussion
16.12, Sunday, 18.30, PaństwoMiasto, ul. Andersa 29
CITY – WHO CARES? Discussion
Organiser: Bęc Zmiana Foundation, Warsaw / www.bęczmiana.pl
Cooperation: PaństwoMiasto, Warsaw, ul. Andersa 29
Raphael Advertising Agency, Hungarian Cultural Institute in Warsaw, Post-war modernism / www.powojennymodernizm.com
Media Patron: Warsaw Branch of the Union of Polish Architects, ‘Notes na 6 Tygodni’
Project Synchronicity 2012 is realised with a grant from the City of Warsaw and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage
