NARRACJE in Biskupia Górka. Whose works are we going to see in October?

We already know the artists for the eighth edition of the NARRACJE festival, which is going to take place on 21 and 22 October 2016 in Biskupia Górka in Gdańsk. Who is going to present the works which will relate to the curator’s, Stach Szabłowski, concept Królestwo 60,8 m n.p.m/Kingdom at 60.8 m.a.s.l.? City Culture Institute and Gdansk City Gallery are proud to present the artists who are going to perform at this year’s edition of NARRACJE.

– While inviting the artists to take part in the open enrolment we strongly believed that Biskupia Górka, which plays the role of both territory and hero of this year’s edition, would turn out to be a very inspirational place, some sort of trigger for creative activities. Our dreams came true. The artists proved to be extremely perceptive while deciphering urban space and yet sensitive for the signals it sends – Stach Szabłowski comments the received pieces.

58 projects were submitted for the NARRACJE open enrolment, among which eight were chosen to be executed in the festival. In Biskupia Górka we will see the works of: Paweł Kowzana, Mariusz Waras, Michał Sosiński, Grzegorz Kozera, Marta Kawecka, Rafał Smoliński, Dagmara Pochyła, Aleksander Ciapka, Filip Ignatowicz, and Martyna Jastrzębska.

There was a huge diversity among the works. There is one thing which combines the best pieces – all of them, however each at its own way, shed new light on the district, which is the hero of NARRACJE, and the way we experience the urban space. I would like to say thank you to all artists for sending their works and sacrificing so much time and effort for NARRACJE – continues the curator of the eighth edition of NARRACJE.

Besides the artists chosen in open enrolment, Stach Szabłowski invited some more to carry out their works: Zorka Wollny, Kuba Bąkowski, Marcin Zawicki, Karolina Freino, Bartek Buczek, Witek Orski, Honorata Martin, Olaf Brzeski, Norman Leto, and Michał Marczak.The artists’ projects were inspired by the curator’s concept Królestwo 60,8 m n.p.m/Kingdom at 60.8 m.a.s.l. Stach Szabłowski encouraged them to view Biskupia Górka not only as one of Gdańsk’s districts, but a kind of allegory as well. He suggested considering the micro city of Biskupia Górka in a universal way, which presents it as the three-layered organism. The first layer consists of the material layer, substance of marks, buildings, streets, institutions, public space, private space, and domesticated and wild nature. Second layer covers life of contemporary residents of the particular district, who animate its matter with their presence. The third layer overlaps with the remaining ones and it is the city itself, comprehended as imagined reality, functioning in the order of symbols, texts, memory, narration, and fiction.

www.narracje.eu

About NARRACJE

NARRACJE has been organised since 2009 and it is a festival of artistic and visual installations, which after dusk come to life in the autumn urban space of Gdańsk. NARRACJE was created to explore urban themes, contexts and come up with new Gdańsk’s stories.

Up to 2011 the German curator, Bettina Peltz, prepared the programme of the festival. In 2012 Steven Matijcio, Canadian working in US, won the international open competition for the curator’s role. Rob Garrett, New Zealander and independent curator became NARRACJE author in 2013, whereas in 2014 Anna Witkowska and Adam Witkowski realised their concept. Anna Smolak was the curator in 2015. In 2016 together with Stach Szabłowski we are going to discover Królestwo 60,8 m n.p.m/Kingdom at 60.8 m.a.s.l. in Biskupia Górka.

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