“Polyphonies and Maps”
High School of Fine Arts in Gronowo Górne
The aim of the project was to familiarise young people with a wide range of phenomena occurring in the arts.
In September 2023, the project objectives were presented to students of all grades at the High School of Visual Arts (LSP). Recruitment criteria were also explained. Those willing to participate were asked to write two short synthesis papers:
- Justification for the desire to participate in the project.
- An essay entitled “My Participation in Cultural Life.”
The papers were marked with emblems and submitted anonymously. The selection committee chose six applications that stood out for their maturity of motivation and expression.
The first session as part of the project was held on 13 October 2023. It was an online meeting with Dorota Kulawczuk-Szostek from the Sopot Auction House, during which the young people could talk with an expert about commercial art dealing, preparation of portfolios and bio-notes, and the professional auctioning process. The expert also touched on issues of copyright protection in the sale of works of art, presented a case study, and analysed the biographical notes compiled by the students.
26 October 2023 marked the beginning of a series of workshops on diction and voice emission with Małgorzata Poronin, a teacher from the State Music School Complex in Elbląg. During the class, the students became aware of their assets and set to work individually, improving their public speaking and self-presentation skills.
The project included a number of study visits to important cultural, art and science institutions in Poland. On 20-22 November 2023, there was a trip to the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, where the project team took part in a workshop held at the academic level: Tomasz Matczak – Lithography Studio, Magdalena Soboń – Paper Art Studio, Agata Stępień and Piotr Skowron – Screen Printing Studio.
At the Artist’s Book Museum in Łodź, a hands-on workshop in book stitching and type printing was held for the students. The students also visited an exhibition at the “ZENITH” Gallery held as part of the National Book Art Review.
At the MS1 Art Museum, the aspiring artists could see the works of renowned masters – Jerzy Nowosielski, Artur Nacht-Samborski, Józef Panfil and Andrzej Łobodzński – as well as permanent exhibitions, with a special focus on the Neoplastic Room and its avant-garde legacy. The room designed by Władysław Strzeminski was a perfect background for the works by Katarzyna Kobro, Theo van Doesburg and Henryk Berlewi.
“We experienced the works by Jerzy Nowosielski; not only the paintings but also some of his stage design projects. Another example of polyphony here: the form, the colour, and artistic space extracted from a single creator”, the students recall.
The study visit of the project team to Łódź
Katarzyna Swoinska, the teacher in charge of the project, recalls the study visit to Łódź:
"At the Academy of Fine Arts, with Tomasz Matczak, a professor at the Lithography Studio, we learned the secrets of working with a lithographic limestone and printing on an antique press... ink, roller, crayons... ossasepia were new things to us. We learned how to implement sustainable technologies into our work, and how to work in flatbed printing in a home environment – a technique known as ‘kitchen litho’. Experience taken away, it’s time to try this out at the school laboratory."
“At the Paper Art Studio with Magdalena Soboń, we experienced processed matter. We could experience and watch how the process of milling recycled paper goes, how the colour is introduced, how the texture and transparency is achieved. Handmade 2D and 3D paper... what it is about with this manuality and message? Paper is an ingredient that can be constantly renewed and rebuilt – one time more or one time less. It is the material of many transformations, many artistic voices. Close to us, accessible in a workshop, environmentally friendly."
"Light and colour as a duo. Our experience at the Screen Printing Studio was focused on the reflection and absorption of light, the magic of fluorescent ink, but also on the one with velvety texture and swelling properties when warmed. Such a graphic set was presented to us by the hosts, from purely physical stories to colourful sensations. How to stimulate the reception of art? How to tease the eye? These topics were discussed at the Screen Printing Studio. Dynamics, colour, darkness, reflections. A rich and poignant palette of measures.”
"The Artist’s Book Museum invited us to their workshop. The typesetter's workshop is a multi-element world, in miniature and larger formats. From small fonts, a big thing; from a large sheet of paper, a small binding. The book bindery is a specific, well-arranged place. Things must happen according to a plan so that the effect impresses with craftsmanship quality and precision. It's a place of peace and telling stories in silence.”
“We were able to compare the results of our working with paper with artist’s books presented at a temporary exhibition in the ZENITH gallery, as part of the National Book Art Review. Here it turned out in how many voices stories can tell a story.. or read by flipping through pages, unfolding paper sashes, looking into open boxes or walking around an unfolding zine. Here, at this exhibition, our experiences with paper, print and artistic communication from the meeting at the Academy of Fine Arts came together.”
The MS1 Art Museum allowed the students to look at the diversity of exhibitions, reflecting the surroundings of the site. The museum’s exhibition spaces are about savouring the mood, spending time over time. "This is how we know how to perceive visual arts. Appreciating the aesthetics and presentation is a part of our future work. The city of Łódź, in its small part, in a condensed period of time, opened us to touching and seeing. Priceless, because experienced”, says Katarzyna Swoińska.
Katarzyna Swoińska
An account of the study visit to Warsaw was compiled by student Justyna Łojewska, 4th grade.
"From 3 to 5 April, six female students from the High School of Visual Arts, together with project supervisors Katarzyna Swoińska and Paulina Łuczak, travelled to Warsaw to find inspiration for the project. It was a very intense time of getting acquainted with art and new artistic experiences.
During our visit to Warsaw, we visited many cultural sites: The Chopin Museum, the Royal Castle, the "Zachęta" Gallery, Kordegarda, the National Museum, the Museum of Warsaw, the Praga Museum of Warsaw, and the Museum of Warsaw Printing where we had some hands-on experience with the linocut technique. Each of these mentioned places stirred excitement and inspired action. Meeting "live" with the works of such artists as Jan Matejko, Stanisław Wyspiański and Olga Boznańska was an amazing experience for us.
We were also inspired by city sights, e.g. the architectural monuments we saw walking through the capital’s Old Town or visiting the Royal Castle. They allowed us to think about how to display our sculptural works and how to combine styles from different époques.
At the “Zachęta” Gallery, we experienced the exhibition of ceramic forms by Henryk Lula, a wonderful example of how important the spatial context of the exhibition can be, including the positioning of individual works with consideration of their colours or scale. We felt the immense importance of even small decisions about the exhibition in shaping the conditions of reception for the viewers.
Kordegarda Gallery surprised us with its small size and intimacy of the works shown. It was a small and quiet place exhibiting ceramic works from the now-defunct Faience Manufacture in Pacyków. The beautiful figures of females were glazed in such a way that at first we were certain that it was porcelain. The name of the exhibition, “Women Liberated”, referred to the moral revolution changing the status of women in the Art déco style. Women in the 1920s fought vigorously for equality and redefining their role in society.
The Frederic Chopin Museum was definitely a different kind of museum from what we usually experience. It was very interesting and required us to interact, to be willing to explore topics that were unusual for us. I particularly liked the drawers which, when opened, played beautiful music. It was the first time I had encountered such an interactive museum that was engaging with its ingenuity to expand knowledge and explore on such a wide scale. An unusual exhibition space that stood out from the experience of other museums was a room with a piano and three booklets of sheet music. When you put one of them on the piano, you could hear the music playing in the room, and the corresponding score is displayed on the wall.
The National Museum in Warsaw was the largest museum we visited during our trip. It contained, among others, collections of ancient, baroque and Young Poland pieces of art.
The museum surprised me with its rich collection of artefacts, the multitude of works exhibited, and its monumentality. What amazed me most about it was that they had a real mummy in its inventory and a wide range of antique columns in various styles.
The Museum of Warsaw allowed us to experience the history of the city recorded in material artefacts. An extremely interesting and eye-pleasing arrangement of the cabinets in the museum was a beautiful journey through the glorious and painful history of Warsaw.
Encouraged by a member of the staff at the Museum of Warsaw Printing, we went to the Praga Museum of Warsaw. In this museum, I was captivated by the exhibition of everyday objects that I'm sure our grandparents would know what they were used for. However, I was most excited by the recorded oral statements. At this exhibition, we could listen to the memories of people who benefitted from the industry of Warsaw's Praga. People commented on the local bazaars and markets, crafts, and industry. They also talked about such things as social activities, leisure or their feelings about using the infrastructure.
The place where we made our linocut works is called the Museum of Warsaw Printing. This was the first encounter with this graphic technique for me. Earlier, also thanks to my participation in the project, I made the first screen printing in my life. It was an inscription: “A visual artist in Warsaw”. It is not perfect, but as the first attempt in this technique, it gave me a lot of joy.
For me, this project is a great opportunity to learn new things and get involved in the art world in a new way. I am proud and grateful for being a part of it.”
The students, armed with knowledge and experience after the study visits, proceeded to their individual projects, which were presented in June 2024 at the High School of Visual Arts in Gronowo Górne.
Students during the finals of the project at the LSP in Gronowo Górne
“Polyphonies & Maps” – presentation of original works
Kalina Reuschel, 3rd grade
The core of the work was a poetic animation maintained in the aesthetics of the ‘60s and ‘70s, drawing inspiration from the best traditions of the Polish School of Illustration and telling a story about life as a journey. In terms of the techniques used, the project relied on manual work with a graphic matrix. The manual, extremely demanding technique was then transferred to the virtual world. This is a short, non-standard video with characters having an internal dialogue, while the viewer is invited to do the same. I recommend getting off at the next station! And what will I find there?
Animation by Kalina Reuschel
Kalina Reuschel
Details of Kalina Reuschel’s work
Details of Kalina Reuschel’s work
Details of Kalina Reuschel’s work
Details of Kalina Reuschel’s work
Magdalena Piróg, 3rd grade
The work consists mainly of a series of workshop prints made on handmade paper (made by the artist’s hand). The work is extremely haptic - it exposes the material, the tangible nature of the creative process embedded in experience and history. This work is about searching for one’s roots and drawing inspiration from folk culture. According to Magdalena, building on the person’s identity and self-identification may be the future of art.
Magdalena Piróg
Details of Magdalena Piróg’s work
Details of Magdalena Piróg’s work
Martyna Chodorowska, 3rd grade
A multi-layered and multi-level travel case (for manual, digital and physical journeys). The piece is made with the use of an intriguing combination of techniques (with a particular focus on recycled fabric and graphic techniques). The journey to the art of the future involves two routes or destinations (from manual delight to the digital world). A dedicated website for the piece has been launched as well. You should definitely look into Martyna’s little suitcase to see if the set of visions, dreams and forms inside would be appropriate for the journey ahead... “Hand luggage” by
Martyna Chodorowska: https://tiny.pl/7gjq45_f
Martyna Chodorowska
Details of Martina Chodorowska’s work
Details of Martina Chodorowska’s work
Details of Martina Chodorowska’s work
Oliwia Kiedrowska, 3rd grade
The core of the project consists of two author’s booklets (self-bound), which are a kind of record of inspirations by the spirit of the places visited and the characters depicted in the works of art, narratives or stories heard. The art of the future is visiting, looking into and selecting what is ours, and what has been more deeply imprinted into our conscious and subconscious self. The unconventional combination of materials (foil, velour, handmade paper) and the shift between the manual and digital worlds gives the work a surreal feel, and provides a pretext for choosing and talking about choices (artistic and non-artistic). The labour-intensive cutting out of individual dies determined the final form of the work.
Oliwia Kiedrowska
Details of Oliwia Kiedrowska’s work
Details of Oliwia Kiedrowska’s work
Justyna Łojewska, 4th grade
Justyna’s work is a small booklet – a travel guide (to take with you) with the original copy written by the author and a selection of places; the technique used is digital printing. The presentation was accompanied by foot prints on the floor symbolising a path and indicating the direction. However, the most important part of Justyna’s work is her experience – her first visits to Warsaw and Łódź.
Justyna Łojewska
Details of Justyna Łojewska’s work
Details of Justyna Łojewska’s work
Patrycja Pajewska, 4th grade
Patrycja’s work is a multi-component graphic-design set consisting of: a series of prints, a sculptural-typographic object (a newspaper jacket) and a publication – a booklet inviting the viewer to play a kind of game. The form of the work was determined by a live verbal game and the same game in the form of a book, inviting the viewer to interact, reflect and have fun. Patrycja consciously approached the role of the designer, who with every gesture, decision, scale, composition and shape tries to evoke emotions. Playing with the composition, she puts “the viewer in motion” – both their body and imagination. Let’s play! Head’s up!
Presentation of Patrycja Pajewska’s project in the setting of an apple orchard on the school grounds
Details of Patrycja Pajewska’s work
Details of Patrycja Pajewska’s work
Details of Patrycja Pajewska’s work
Paulina Łuczak, an art history teacher, speaks about the role of design activities to support conscious planning of the presence on the art market for young artists.
“Careers in the arts (for those who are not familiar with the work of an art advisor) are a highly mythicized, enigmatic and mysterious phenomenon. This is certainly influenced in the first place by the pop culture: films, articles about artists and media focus usually on extraordinary phenomena and successes achieved ‘overnight’ or thanks to lucky events and coincidences. How is a young artist supposed to navigate such a narrative? How should he or she plan their development? A vague idea of an art college... and what’s next?
In our daily dealings with students, we can see that there is a very strong demand for career counselling discussions. Unfortunately, teachers have limited tools and competence to answer all the questions that arise.
It is important that the educational process provide students with at least some access to this industry-specific, somewhat restricted knowledge. This would help them to understand what factors can translate into the visibility of the artist in the media space, the perception of the artist as a professional, the chances to collaborate with prominent exhibition institutions."
As a Foundation, we are confident that the workshops held as part of the project have helped to raise the participants’ awareness about planning their artistic future. The project activities strengthened the competencies of young people, gave them confidence in their own abilities, and encouraged them to speak with their own voice on the artistic stage.
“Polyphonies & Maps” The six participants of the project – KALINA REUSCHEL, OLIWIA KIEDROWSKA, JUSTYNA ŁOJEWSKA, MAGDALENA PIRÓG, MARTYNA CHODOROWSKA, PATRYCJA PAJEWSKA – students from grades 3 and 4, have created six original zines: personal maps showing various itineraries possible in the world of arts. Each of the aspiring artists chose a different creative area and posed her own questions. The presented works communicated with the viewer, inviting interaction.
The conclusion is one. There are many paths in the world of arts possible, and none of them is universally the ‘right’ one. The art of the future depends on whether artists choose the digital world, based on modern technologies, or explore noble traditional techniques, or perhaps combine these worlds in their work so that they complement each other?
The answer to the competition question “What's up with art?” is left open by the students of the visual arts school in Gronowo. In addition to the original zines – the subject matter of the project – we also saw enormous intangible value of the experience acquired from the physical contact with the form, material and creative experimentation. A priceless value of this project for the students involved.
The participants share their experiences with their classmates and the entire community of the arts school in Gronowo. They also promote the project in the regional media, among others:
Finał projektu w LSP w Gronowie Górnym
SOCIAL IMPACT AND SUSTAINABILITY OF THE PROJECT
Visual arts schools participating in the competitions held as part of the “Wena” Grant Program focus on the sustainability and social impact of their educational and art projects.
A series of meetings around the “Polyphonies & Maps” was held at the Gronowo High School of Visual Arts in June 2024 as part of the project called “living educational map”. The students invited elementary school children and teenagers to a presentation of the project outcomes, and encouraged them to reflect on arts and to participate in workshops. Young people from the Elementary School No. 15 in Elbląg visited the high school and took part in workshops in the Sculpture Studio led by teacher and artist Monika Walas. In turn, the Public Elementary School in Gronowo Górne drew inspiration from the presentation of the “Polyphonies & Maps” project outcomes prepared by students Kalina, Martyna and Magda.
We are pleased that the project is reaching out to increasingly wider social circles and is inviting future generations to this unique art school.
LEAD TEACHER
Katarzyna Swoińska – teacher of workshop graphic techniques, artistic project manager, experienced educator, leader of the project called “Po co nam ten cały film” (“Why do we need all this film?”), awarded in the 4th edition of the “Wena” Grant Program Competition. Passionate about graphic arts, bookbinding and paper art. She supervises young people in the Starak Family Foundation’s “Graphic Vena Masters” pilot programme.
