Discussion meeting "Ecologies of the Culture II. Education" (Poland)
Curator: Janusz Adam Biedrzycki
Leader: Stanisław Godlewski
Guests: Anna Becherka (BECHANN), Paweł Błęcki, Agata Kędzia (Teatr Zagłębia), Małgorzata Świderek (Ośrodek Działań Ekologicznych “Źródła”)
Date: 26.08.2023 / Saturday
Time: 10 am - 2 pm
Place: Room C_101, Art_Inkubator in Art Factory in Lodz
Admission: free / prior booking and collection of free tickets is required
Booking of free tickets: from July 21, 2023 / via the online BOOKING FORM
Collection of free tickets: from July 21, 2023 / at the festival office
Duration: 240 minutes (including a coffee break)
Participants’ age: no limitations
Discussion panel will be held in Polish.
DESCRIPTION OF THE MEETING
Education is the key tool to shape the attitude of the society, as well as raising ecological awareness. It is the cultural institution’s obligation to conduct this type of education, both - of the formal and non-formal character. Mainly, due to even greater degradation of the natural environment caused by anthropogenic factors. During the next meeting of the specialists from the discipline of ecology and culture we would like to ask questions about ecological education. The issue of our planet and its resource degradation requires a change of orientation, thinking, it is the new generation that needs to change the paradigm, transform the mentality and activity. Ecological awareness and education should be implemented from the very beginning of a young person's existence. Learning cannot be perceived only as the way to convey information but should be connected with shaping certain attitudes and the promotion of alternative role models.
We have invited specialists, practitioners and theoreticians from various academic and artistic disciplines who collaborate to make an ecological change: Anna Becherka (BECHANN), Paweł Błęcki, Agata Kędzia (Teatr Zagłębia), Małgorzata Świderek (Ośrodek Działań Ekologicznych “Źródła”), and Zofia Smolarska as the moderator.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS
Anna Becherka (BECHANN) - upcycling designer, creator, owner of the brand, gallery and BECHANN art studio located in Art_Inkubator in Art Factory in Lodz, where modern paintings, lamps, jewellery and bags are manufactured from the passion of recycling and discovering new resources. From the passion of "creating from what already exists". Manufacturer of unique products from old, unwanted objects, mainly useless cables and wires. Acting in harmony with Zero Waste rules. Graduate of Interior Design Postgraduate Studies at Academy of Fine Art in Lodz. Her work is upcycling and recycling in one. She rediscovers beauty and new functionalities of unwanted objects. She gives them a second, new life. She joins structures into modern shapes and forms. By processing what already exists, she discovers an abundance of underestimated resources. She shares all of it conducting workshops, creating, presenting and selling her works, thus introducing a change in lifestyle. She processes hundreds of worn-out cables to give them altered form and value. It is an environmentally friendly activity, given the use of computer junk that floods us, showing that it is possible to create jewellery, home furnishings, or everyday objects, based on raw materials we define as "waste". She wants her work to encourage a shift in the perception of waste as a useless raw material, showing that creation is possible on the basis of existing structures, where the limit is only the imagination.
Her works were recognised in the EcoMade contest in 2016 organised by the Academy of Fine Art in Lodz. The series of works "New Connections" won first place and a special prize from Canal+. The Laureate of Distinction in Modopolis contest for sustainable fashion designers. The winner of "Designer of the month" title granted by "EKO DEKO" - innovative upcycling platform. Co-founder of the workshop space "DOM Prze-Twórców" in Poleski Art Centre in Lodz. Dedicated artist on this year’s XIV Biennale in Florence. Her works have been displayed: on the online exhibition in Artebinaria gallery in France, on the "Experiments" exhibition arranged by Artexpertise - Contemporary Art Gallery in Florence, on the contest exhibition "Young for start" during Gdynia Design Days, on "Recycled" exhibition in Huta Sztuki Gallery during "A Thing for Art - Design in Krakow" event. The chosen works were qualified for publication in "Bruxelles Art Vue Volumes of Darkness 2021" book. The following magazines wrote about the BECHANN brand: "Forbes", "LIFE IN", "Puls Biznesu", "Łódź Kreuje Innowacje", "Plast Echo". BECHANN products obtained an Artistic Handicraft Certificate in the Polish Nationwide Guild of Artisans and Artists.
Paweł Błęcki - born in Gdańsk. A photographer, sculptor, the creator of objects and installations. A Ph.D student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow (the department run by Iwona Demko, the associate professor). A graduate of the Intermedia Department at the University of Arts in Poznan (university degree from Piotr Kurka) and the Photography Department Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk. He studied archaeology and cultural studies at the University of Gdansk and photography at FAMU International filmmaking school in Prague. In his works he tackles the social, ecological and political issues of consumer society, craftwork and art therapy. The initiator of workshop and participative activities where you imitate traditional craftwork techniques and place them in the modern context. He used to be a member of Zbiór Pusty (An Empty Set) whose activities revolved around the multidirectional relationship of a human being with nature. He is a creative member of Wspólnota międzygatunkowa+ (inter-genre-community+) whose aim is to care about humans and non-human creatures. Along with Pamela Bożek he participates in the project of Biuro Wspólnej Aktywności (The Office for the Joint Activity), dealing with sustainability of production and art availability. When pursuing his career of an artist and a researcher he participated in the mentorship project of Studio Mistrzyni (Masterclass Studio) by Joanna Rajkowska, was an artist-resident at Centrum Rzeźby Polskiej (Polish Sculpture Centre) in Orońsk and was one of the curators of the “Magiczne zaagażowanie” exhibition (“The magical involvement”) at Galeria Miejska Arsenał (the Arsenal City Gallery) in Poznan where there has been the art and the activity of several people dealing with contemporary art presented with the aim to protect the environment.
His works have been presented at individual exhibitions in Centrum Sztuki Współczesnej Łaźnia (Łaźnia Centre for Contemporary Art) in Gdansk, Państwowa Galeria Sztuki (the National Art Galery) in Sopot, Galeria Miejska BWA (City Office for Contemporary Art) in Bydgoszcz, Galeria EL (EL Gallery) in Elbląg and collective exhibitions e.g. in Centrum Rzeźby Polskiej (Polish Sculpture Centre) in Oronsk, at the Office for Contemporary Art in Zielona Gora, at the Office for Contemporary Art in Tarnow, at the Office for Contemporary Art in Wroclaw, in Galeria Labirynt (the Labyrinth Gallery) in Lublin.
Agata Kędzia (Zagłębie Theatre) - theatre educator, culture activity organiser, performer. She studied cultural studies at the Silesian University in Katowice and performance at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. As an author of the concept, coordinator and a person conducting classes, she contributes to projects from the field of theatre pedagogy in Zagłębie Theatre in Sosnowiec. She writes articles, tracks relationships between art and education, contributes to creative projects activating children, youth and adults. Amateur of theatre caring about young audiences. For the work "The difficult art of growing up. Performative events for teenage audiences" she won III award in the contest for the best master’s thesis in the field of knowledge about theatre organised by Theatre Institute in Warsaw (2021). Co-author of performances: "performance that has never been made" (premiere in J. Grotowski Institute in 2021), "we have to finish now" (premiere in Bytom 2022).
Zagłębie Theatre - is a self-governing artistic institution. Its mission is to care for the cultural development of the region’s inhabitants through the creation and presentation of the theatre performances and realisation of activities of socio-educational character. Each event is a unique meeting with the spectators. It is one of the few theatres in Poland, which pays such attention to the development of reflections on the ecosystems in which it functions. Through everyday practices in the workplace, the Zagłębie Theatre company wants to minimise the negative impact on the immediate environment - natural and social.
Małgorzata Świderek (The Centre for Environmental Activities "Źródła") - co-founder and president of the management of The Centre for Environmental Activities "Źródła" / "Sources". In "Źródła" she always deals with education. Currently, she primarily answers questions from co-workers, trains educators and teachers, creates didactic materials, invents educational projects and programmes. Author and co-author of more than 50 publications in the field of ecological and global education. She runs Ecological Education and Culture Facility. A graduate in social anthropology, she has become engrossed in global education. In her spare time, she sews felt brooches, cuts stamps from erasers, and inscriptions from newspapers, walks in the woods, reads.
The Centre for Environmental Activities "Źródła" - for 25 years it has been engaged in broadly understood ecological, natural and civic education. The mission of "Źródła" / "Sources" is increasing the level of ecological consciousness of the society through active learning carried out mainly through the workshops for children and youth, teacher and educator trainings, field education and nationwide Polish informative projects. We share our experience conducting workshops for teachers and educators and trainer schools by creating and publishing educational materials, supporting other organisations and institutions in creating and implementing educational programmes, lobbying for better education, initiating projects and activities such as Polish Nationwide Day of Empty Classroom. We study and analyse availability and quality of ecological and global education and we write recommendations. We connect educators and share knowledge. We invite everyone to act together.
Stanisław Godlewski - doctor of humanities, works at the Art Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Theatre critic, editor of “Pamiętnik Teatralny”. He deals with the history of 20th-century theatre and contemporary theatre.
Janusz Adam Biedrzycki - curator of the meeting. Actor, dancer, choreographer, theatre instructor, director. Graduate of Humanities Department, major in: Culture studies, Folklore and ethnology, Theatre and Film Studies at Maria Curie Skłodowska University in Lublin. Graduate of Culture Management on Literature Theory, Theatre and Audiovisual Art Institute of University of Lodz. "Pedagogue in Theatre" course participant organised by Theatre Institute in Warsaw. Co-founder and member of CHOREA Theatre. Ministry of Culture and National Heritage scholarship holder in: 2010 and 2014, and City Hall of Lodz scholarship holder in: 2013, 2017 and 2022. Co-creator of a manual "Physical actor training - from individual to group actions" (2015), created in collaboration with PWSFTViT and with support of NIMiT. Since 2007 an instructor and educator in Art Factory, author of several workshops and educational projects for children, youth and adults. The originator and producer of interdisciplinary workshops cycle "Laboratory of Creative Actions" (editions: 2019, 2020, 2021). Founder and leader of Senior-Youth Theatre Group CHOREA. From 2022 member of Polish Actors Association. Curator of discussion meetings: "The Ecology of Culture" in 2022 and "The Ecology of Culture II. Education" in 2023.
