Thanks to
the 18th edition of the SURVIVAL Art Review, the City Port pumping
station in Wrocław, which is normally inaccessible to visitors, will turn into
a large exhibition space. We will see almost 30 unique works, including
paintings and installations. The Video Art Forum will be presented for the
first time. The programme also includes curator-led tours, historical walks,
performances and debates as part of the “Culture for Climate” Public Forum,
which is dedicated to raising environmental awareness.
The motto
of the Review – “Wasteland” – is a direct reference to the famous poem by
Thomas Stearns Eliot under the same title. Published in 1922, The Waste Land is a fundamental work of modernist poetry, in which
the war trauma, quotations from world literature and everyday sounds intertwine
to create a picture of a world marked by transience, anxiety and a culture
maimed beyond recognition. Eliot’s work provided the starting point for the
visual identification of this year’s SURVIVAL, created by Łukasz Paluch.
Inspired by horror film posters, it is based on a manipulated view from inside
the City Port pumping station – the venue for this year’s edition of the
Review.
Art in the
inaccessible City Port pumping station
This year, the SURVIVAL audience will have
an opportunity to discover the normally inaccessible City Port pumping station,
built in the years 1898–1901 on a promontory parallel to the Odra River
waterfront. For over 100 years, it was a key element of an impressive
environmentally-friendly wastewater treatment system, which was launched in
1881, making it one of the oldest in Europe. The pumping station building was
designed by well-known Wrocław architects – Richard Plüddemann and Karl Klimm. It
has survived almost intact to this day. Inside the building we will see several dozen works of art selected in a
competition. The main exhibition will feature both extensive site-specific installations as well as videos and sculptural
objects. “A new section in the programme is the Video Art Forum, featuring works selected especially for this year’s
festival, which offer surprising perspectives for interpreting the issues raised
by this year’s SURVIVAL,” says Małgorzata Miśniakiewicz, curator of the Review.
Performance arts will be represented by, among others, Monika Konieczna and
Mariusz Sibila, who will present the performance Talk to Me (Words Pumping Station), and Wiktor Gałka, one of the
representatives of the student section of the Academy of Art and Design in
Wrocław, with a play entitled If There
Was Water Here, I Would Stop and Drink.
“Culture
for Climate”, Eliot from the sound perspective
This year, the Review will be accompanied by the
online Public Forum dedicated to raising environmental awareness. Thanks to the
partnership with the Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation, three debates
will be held under the motto “WASTELAND: Culture for Climate”, with the participation
of artists, curators and activists from Wrocław and Berlin. “Issues such as
wasting resources, the need for new curatorial strategies and the role of
artists in developing social awareness in the face of the impending climate
disaster will be discussed,” says Dora Kuentzel, coordinator of the debates. The
Sound Art Forum of the 18th edition of the SURVIVAL Art Review is an
invitation to approach Eliot’s poem from an auditory perspective. “We will pay special
attention to how Eliot’s auditory perspective resonates in the context of
reading his poem as an ecological manifesto,” explains Daniel Brożek, curator
of the Sound Art Forum.
Traditionally, it will be possible to take part in
numerous tours led by the curators of the Review. There will also be special
tours for the disabled, tours in English and walks for parents with young
children as part of the BAW! Baby Art Walk series. Ewa Pluta from the City
Museum of Wrocław will give a historical tour of the City Port. Until 15 September,
the Szewska Pasja Street Gallery (Szewska Street) will present an exhibition
devoted to Eliot and his Waste Land,
which consists of fragments of the poem and beautiful photographs of the
interior of the City Port pumping station.
COVID-19: obligatory
registration, masks and gloves
Due to the ongoing epidemic, to ensure the safety and
comfort of the Review participants, the organisers have introduced mandatory registration
for events accompanying the main exhibition. In order to take part in the tours,
walks and performances, you must sign up for them in advance by e-mail (zapisy@arttransparent.org),
indicating the name of the event and its exact date. Registration starts on 3 September
at noon and will last until the end of the Review. Visitors to the pumping
station will also be required to wear face masks and gloves. Hand sanitizers
will be provided. Pets are not allowed to enter the festival area this year.
PROGRAMME
10.09 THURSDAY
opening
hours: noon–midnight
4–5.30 PM Tour of the exhibition led by curator Michał Bieniek, start: Café [NO VACANCIES]
6–6.30 PM Monika Konieczna and Mariusz Sibila, Talk to Me (Words Pumping Station), performance
8–9.30 PM Tour of the exhibition led by curator Małgorzata Miśniakiewicz, start: Café [NO VACANCIES]
10–11 PM Wiktor Gałka, If There Was Water Here, I Would Stop and Drink, performance [NO VACANCIES]
11.09 FRIDAY
opening
hours: 10 AM – midnight
5–5.30 PM Historical tour of the City Port led by Ewa Pluta, Wrocław City Museum, start: junction of Reymonta and Kleczkowska streets [NO VACANCIES]
6–7.30 PM Tour of the exhibition led by curator Michał Bieniek, start: Café [NO VACANCIES]
7–8.30 PM Public Forum: Climate Change vs. The Organisation of Large Cultural Events, online debate with Krzysztof Bielaszka and Konstanze Meyer, moderator: Paulina Maloy (streaming at the Café)
9–9.30 PM Monika Konieczna and Mariusz Sibila, Talk to Me (Words Pumping Station), performance [NO VACANCIES]
10–11 PM Wiktor Gałka, If There Was Water Here, I Would Stop and Drink, performance [NO VACANCIES]
12.09 SATURDAY
opening
hours: 10 AM – 10.30 PM
10.00–11.30 AM Tour of the City Port for people with disabilities led by Ewa Pluta, Wrocław City Museum, start: junction of Reymonta and Kleczkowska streets [NO VACANCIES]
2 PM Tour in the BAW! series led by Karolina Bieniek and Ewa Pluta, start: Café [NO VACANCIES]
6–6.30 PM Monika Konieczna and Mariusz Sibila Talk to Me (Words Pumping Station), performance [NO VACANCIES]
7–8.30 PM Public Forum: Climate Change in Culture, online debate with Katarzyna Roj and Tom Albrecht, moderator: Agata Skrzypczyk (streaming at the Café)
8–9.30 PM Tour of the exhibition in English led by curator Małgorzata Miśniakiewicz, start: Café [NO VACANCIES]
13.09 SUNDAY
opening
hours: 10 AM – 10 PM
2.30–3.30 PM Sound Art Forum: meeting, moderator: Daniel Brożek (Café) [NO VACANCIES]
4–5.30 PM Tour of the exhibition [KW1] for people with disabilities led by Ewa Pluta, Wrocław City Museum, start: Café
6–6.30 PM Monika Konieczna and Mariusz Sibila Talk to Me (Words Pumping Station), performance [NO VACANCIES]
7–8.30 PM Public Forum: Climate Change and Artists’ Responsibility, online debate with Alicja Patanowska and Alfred Banze, moderator: Andrzej Raszyk (streaming at the Café)
The SURVIVAL Art Review is organised by the Art Transparent Foundation.
The Review is co-financed by the Municipality of Wrocław.
Patron of the Review: E. Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław
Strategic partner: MPWiK Wrocław S.A
Director of the Review: Michał Bieniek
Curators: Michał Bieniek, Daniel Brożek (Sound Art Forum), Anna Kołodziejczyk, Małgorzata Miśniakiewicz (Video Art. Forum), Ewa Pluta
Student section – E. Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław, curators: professor Wojciech Pukocz, assistant professor Kasper Lecnim
