Zbiorowość - an international art and academic symposium in collaboration with the OP ENHEIM Foundation

We are pleased to announce that Nów. New Craft Poland has received financial support under the National Recovery Plan for the implementation of the project „Zbiorowość- an international artistic and scientific symposium featuring artists, craftswomen and craftsmen, anthropologists, philosophers, art historians, and curators..

„Zbiorowość” is an international artistic and scientific symposium co-organized with the OP ENHEIM Foundation, which took place this autumn as part of a series of meetings, lectures, presentations, and discussions. From September 5–8, 2024, participants met at FLOWLAND in Tarczyn, while on October 29, 2024, a discussion panel was held online. The goal of this creative exchange was to develop a publication and a concept for an exhibition scheduled for presentation in 2025.

„Zbiorowość” is intended to culminate in a presentation of artistic works scheduled for autumn 2025 at OP ENHEIM in Wrocław. However, it goes beyond the exhibition format: using craft as its conceptual axis, it primarily establishes a reflective dialogue among all participants, including artists Olga Micińska, Iza Tarasewicz, and Zinaida Tchelidze, as well as craftsmen and craftswomen. Nów. New Craft Poland, allowing for a fresh perspective on one’s own practice and the development of appropriate (collaborative) strategies.

As part of the symposium, during discussions and lectures, topics such as collectivity, materiality of works, craft techniques, and the locality and ecological aspects of craftsmanship were addressed. From the academic side, participants included anthropologist Dr. Ewa Klekot, philosopher Dr. hab. Mateusz Salwa, sociologist Dr. Piotr Szenajch, and curator and art historian Alicja Melzacka. The symposium program and the online academic publication were overseen by curator and art critic Dr. Marta Lisok, who, based on the conclusions from the discussions and meetings, developed the concept and scenario for the planned exhibition, featuring: Anna Bera, Huba (Jakub Ciemachowski and Piotr Kołakowski), Agata Marchlewicz, Olga Micińska, Olga Milczyńska, P55 Mirrors (Beata Ludwin and Łukasz Wołek), REST studio (Dominika Gacka and Julia Piekarska), Jakub Święcicki, Iza Tarasewicz, and Zinaida Tchelidze.

The symposium, the publication, and the exhibition planned for 2025, like many of the Association’s initiatives, aim to promote the idea of craftsmanship, which encompasses circular economy, ecological practices, the use of natural or recycled materials, and the appreciation of manual labor. We hope that through our activities, public awareness of these issues will grow. By initiating innovative projects, we also strengthen our position as an expert in the field of artistic craftsmanship in Poland.

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The project has received support under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan as part of the task: Resilience and Competitiveness of the Economy; Investment A2.5.1: Program supporting the activities of entities in the culture and creative industries sector to stimulate their development.