Cultural bulletin 26 (575)

News in brief

• Culture Minister Bogdan Zdrojewski handed the Gloria Artis Medal for merits to the Polish culture to Italian theatre director Eugenio Barbie in Wrocław, south-eastern Poland, on June 14. Zdrojewski underscored Barby’s humanism and sensitivity. The ceremony inaugurated the „World is A Place of Truth” (Świat miejscem prawdy) theatre festival that is organized by the Jerzy Grotowski Institute in Wrocław.
• A new branch of the National Museum in Kielce, southern Poland, will be devoted to inter-cultural dialogue. The branch is to be set up by the museum’s long-time director Robert Kotowski. Kotowski, an ardent supporter of dialogue believes all its forms should be shown except for pathologies in inter-human relations like i.e. the Kielce pogrom.
• U.S. musician Lenny Kravitz gave a single and free concert in Cracow on Saturday, June 20, during the traditional flower garlands’ throwing in the the Vistula River on the Midsummer Night’s Eve. The Kravitz concert was preceded by performances by The Poise Rite, Vavamuffin and Woolves (Wilki) bands and Patrycja Markowska.

Reports

Super-dues and demolition end the festival in Opole

The 46th Opole 2009 Poland’s Song Festival ended in a concert of Super-dues. At the end of the event "De Molers" entered the amphitheatre and started demolishing the premises still before the planned modernisation.

"De Molers" is a renovation team led by Skiba from the Big Cyc band. The band, accompanied by Ireneusz Dudek sang "Au shalalala" at the end of the concert. A moment later some 20 builders used pickaxes and hammers to dismantle the benches in one of the sectors of the Opole amphitheatre. "So started the dismantling of the historic place, the house of the Polish song since 1963,” Robert Janowski who appeared as the MC shouted to the mike.

The modernization of the amphitheatre aimed help it keep up with the world’s standards will last close to two years.

Before the demolishing started the public and TV viewers listened to 15 dues of artists from different generations like Edyta Górniak and Zbigniew Wodecki, Piotr Kupicha and Irena Jarocka, Andrzej Piaseczny and Krystyna Prońko, as well as Justyna Steczkowska and  Bogusław Mec and Ivan Komarenko with the Bolter band.

National Remembrance Curator awards granted

This year the National Remembrance Curator Awards have been granted to Eugenia Maresch, Ludwik Jerzy Rossowski, Father Czesław Wala, the editorial office of the Zeszyty Historyczne history and literary review issued in Paris and banned under the communism as well as the Józef Piłsudski Institute in London and New York, spokesman for the National Remembrance Institute IPN Andrzej Arseniuk has told PAP.

The award-granting ceremony took place at Warsaw’s Royal Castle on June 16 under the honorary patronage of President Lech Kaczyński.

The title of the National Remembrance Curator is granted every year since 2002 by the award council chaired by the IPN head. It may be given to institutions, social organizations and private people actively commemorating the history of the Polish nation between 1939 and 1989, and to those whose public actions are similar to IPN goals.

Nominations to Cogito and Opus, Public Media Awards

25 books and 25 music compositions were nominated this year to the 2nd edition of Public Media Awards, namely the Cogito award for literature and Opus award for contemporary classical music.

Both awards was established by the Polish television and radio in April of 2008.

Cogito 2009 is granted to the author of a book of exceptional artistic values written and published in Polish in 2008. Opus 2009 is granted to composer whose music was first performed in the previous year.

Names of this year laureates will be made public on September 14 during a gala broadcast life by TVP Channels One, 1, TVP Kultura and Radio One.

Poland, the guest of honour at Paris poetry book fair

Poland was the guest of honour at this year edition of Marche de la Poesie, the poetry book fair held in Paris on June 18 – 22.

The Marche de la Poesie, France’s most important poetry event is an open-air fair held at Saint-Suplice square, downtown Paris. It is made of two parts, the fair attended by editors and the fair offering meetings with authors, concerts and film shows.

Poland was represented by poets: Ewa Lipska, Tomasz Różycki, Dariusz Suska, Adam Zagajewski and Adam Zdrodowski. Their poetry was read by themselves in Poland and in French translation by French actors. June 18 saw a concert by Grzegorz Turnau.

During the event a review of Polish films was on in the Arlequin movie theatre. On were movies by Andrzej Wajda, namely the Maindens of Wilko, Ash and Diamond, Jan Jakub  Kolski’s "Pornograhy" and Tadeusz Konwicki’s "Salto".

Polish posters on display in Warsaw

More than 500 posters issued in Poland over the past two years are on display in the Museum of Poster in Wilanów, Warsaw, as of June 16 during the 14^th edition of the Polish Poster Exhibition.

The Poster Exhibition is held every two years on the rotational  basis with the International Poster Biennial and shows only Polish works not selected by any jury. The exhibition is a review of different graphic techniques and a calendar of  cultural, political and special event depicting Poles’ life in the past two years. Until Sept. 30.

Culture Minister hands annual awards

The culture and national heritage minister’s awards for life-time achievements and culture  promotion and protection were granted on June 15 to 16 outstanding Poles including literary critic Maria Janion, actor Franciszek Pieczka and writer Dorota Masłowska.

Culture and National Heritage Minister Bogdan Zdrojewski stressed during the ceremony that the circle of laureates creates an „outstanding team of people of whom the Polish culture could be proud and who make Poland famous abroad.”

Great Britain: commercial movie theatres show Wajda’s "Katyń"

Andrzej Wajda’s „Katyń, the 2008 Academy Award nominee, his the screens of 12 Great Britain and Ireland movie theatres on June 19. The movie, distributed by "An Artificial Eye" had a special inaugural show at London’s Curzon Mayfair movie theatre in the presence of historian Adam Zamoyski, known promoter of Poland’s history.

PAP envisages

• The Meeting of National Theatres, the international festival initiated by the National Theatre in Warsaw will be held between October and November. Hanna Zoll of the National Theatre has told PAP that the festival will feature for six performances of selected European theatres.
• A score of so outstanding theatre directors and playwrights from Poland and abroad will take part in „Dialgue” (Dialog), the 5th International Theatre Festival, to be held in Wrocław, southern Poland, in October. Festival director Krystyna Meissner has told PAP this year festival will be held under the slogan "Against the Evil” (Wobec zła).
• Ian Gillan, former Deep Purple and Black Sabbath singer and German artists Nina Hagen will give a concert as one of the main events of the Solidarity of Arts 2009 festival, to be held in Gdansk, northern Poland, between August 15 and September 20.
• Youssou N'Dour, deemed to be the best African singer will be the guest star of this year fifth edition of the „Crossroads of Cultures (Skrzyżowanie Kultur) festival, to be held on Sept., 13 and 19, Beata Laudańska of the festival bureau has told PAP. The gala concert opening this year event will be N'Dour first meeting with Polish public.
• Compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Haydn as well as the first performance of a composition  by Marek Jasiński are on the agenda of the 5th edition of the "Sacrum-non profanum" International Music Festival, to be held in Trzęsacz (north-west Poland, between August 10 and 15.
• Guano Apes, Blenders, Juliette Lewis, Voo voo and Leszek Możdżer are among scores of musicians that will take part in the 15th edition of the rock music festival in Kostrzyń an der Oder that starts on July 31 and will last three days.