The seminar part of the program was supplemented by the execution of artistic projects, run in international teams. During that part of the program participants confronted in turn their own memory, experience, and cultural baggage. They faced the question of whether or not the memory of 1945 is, for them, an important point in history. They sought inspiration in conceptualizing and preforming art. They tried to express their answer in work involving various media: photography, video art, and action with space and the body.
“This was a difficult task for the participants of Polin Meeting Point Summer Education School devoted to the end of World War II.
The idea was to approach the topic – the end of World War II – in a creative way, through one’s own experiences, knowledge gained in the lectures and discussions, visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial and museum, visit to the exhibition The Experience of Auschwitz Today at the MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art in Kraków, and lecture showing examples of how contemporary art deals with the subject of history.
A few days of intensive work produced some great projects, both individual and created in international groups.
Based on different experiences of history, the participants created works emphasizing concern for a shared future as well as the need to be aware of the danger of history repeating itself.
For me, as an artist and curator, it was really astounding to see the variety of artistic media used by the workshop participants. These included photography, film, collage, performance, objects and installations.
Works that took a lot of thought, were on topic and diverse.
I hope that this experience of translating one’s feelings, experiences and knowledge into art will help these young people live more consciously and be more aware of the world around them.
And I hope it will also make them closer to modern art.”
Krystyna Piotrowska
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