WARSAW UNDER CONSTRUCTION 12

(map contour of Warsaw)

This year’s edition of the WARSAW UNDER CONSTRUCTION Festival focuses on the notion of community – community understood in most simple and direct terms as an exchange of practical skills and neighbourhood involvement and defined by ideas of care and mindfulness, as well as interpersonal relations and environments that foster them.

This year’s edition of the WARSAW UNDER CONSTRUCTION Festival focuses on the notion of community – community understood in most simple and direct terms as an exchange of practical skills and neighbourhood involvement and defined by ideas of care and mindfulness, as well as interpersonal relations and environments that foster them.

The festival, which so far was dedicated to architecture and urban planning, shifts the emphasis from the streets and squares of Warsaw to issues of social relations and the needs of residents and invites smaller groups and micro-communities to collaborate on creating a programme of joint activities.

While trying to find SOMETHING, we must face a number of questions: Can we lead a community life while maintaining privacy? How should we understand hospitality in the face of growing distrust during the pandemic? What kinds of remedies are proposed by artists to deal with increasing social divisions? In a state of crisis, would it be worth sharing something more than a staircase with our neighbours?

The 12th edition of WARSAW UNDER CONSTRUCTION consists of two equivalent parts: an exhibition and a programme of events based on the activities of seven working groups. The permanent exhibition at the Museum on the Vistula will be accompanied by a series of debates, workshops, guided tours, and discussions.

As demonstrated by many of the projects presented at the exhibition, building a consensus that would enable us to live together/ live in COMMON? may be the best investment for the city. In just a few months, the pandemic cut us off from various forms of participation and co-presence in the public sphere –meetings, demonstrations, work and social gatherings. Of course, it is difficult to imagine a well-functioning society without hospitality, support, and care. Therefore, one of the main issues raised in this year’s edition of the festival is the possibility of active involvement of residents in shaping their surroundings, in particular in co-housing, self-organised by senior citizens.

The crisis affecting almost all areas of life can be the starting point for rethinking universal values, regardless of political divisions. However, it is easy to overlook the importance of care. It also shouldn’t be confused with an act of charity. It can be easily appropriated and exploited, and sometimes it takes the form of empty, pompous acts.

In its previous editions, WARSAW UNDER CONSTRUCTION Festival has mainly focused on architecture and urban planning. However, there are many other areas that have an equally large impact on the quality of life in Warsaw and may turn out to be crucial for local communities: mutual aid and support in everyday activities, conscious management of digital data that can serve communities, or maintaining social dialogue and inviting new residents to join it. Cultural institutions can join in these activities. The pandemic has radically changed the world and deprived us of the illusion that we can predict the near future. And this time, a return to the old order seems impossible. One of the key challenges faced by the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw – particularly in the context of our new headquarters, currently under construction in Defilad Square – is the need to redefine the mission of cultural and art institutions.

The 12th edition of WARSAW UNDER CONSTRUCTION is a several-month-long learning and collaborative process, a workshop on sharing experiences. It aims to help us see the new potential of the city, revealed during the pandemic: SOMETHING COMMON.

Contributors:

Sara Alexandre, Marta Bartkowska, Józefina Bartyzel, Maria Beburia, Pamela Bożek, Paweł Brylski, Artur Celiński, Agnieszka Cieśla, Marta Czyż, Wojciech Dada, Aleksandra Dengo, Agnieszka Dragon, Magdalena Drągowska, Marianna Dobkowska, Rafał Dominik, Michał Frydrych, Taras Gembik, Zuza Golińska, Katarzyna Górna, Anna Grajewska, Grupa Za* (Yura Biley, Vera Zalutskaya, Yulia Krivich), Karolina Grzywnowicz, Rafał Jakubowicz, Ida Karkoszka, Kacper Kępiński, Daniel Kotowski, Dominika Kowynia, Marta Krześlak, Kaja Kusztra, Kasper Lecnim, Michał Łukaszuk, Ewa Majewska, Marta Skowrońska-Markiewicz, Marta Trakul-Masłowska, Noemi Ndoloka Mbezi, Martyna Miller, Julia Minasiewicz, Jan Możdżyński, Amy Muhoro i Weronika Wysocka, Margaret Ohia-Nowak, Oleg&Kaśka, Ada Petriczko, Kamil Pierwszy (Galeria Serce Człowieka), Post Studio Noviki, Marta Przasnek, Marta Przybył, Mariola Przyjemska, Alicja Rogalska, Jakub Rudziński, Irmina Rusicka, Daniel Rycharski, Tomasz Saciłowski, Beata Siemieniako, Mikołaj Sobczak, Kacha Szaniawska, Kuba Szreder, Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, Agata Twardoch, Marta Udoh, Ogi Ugonoh, Jolanta Woch, Katarzyna Wojtczak, Jan Eustachy Wolski, Alicja Wysocka, Weronika Zalewska, Aleksandra Kardach-Zbroja, Agata Diduszko-Zyglewska, Jan Zygmuntowski, Artur Żmijewski, Paweł Żukowski

Seven working groups worked on the program of accompanying events:

Mission of the institution, Blyzkist, Live together, The future of data, Black is Polish, Linguistic, Local government.

The program of accompanying events will be implemented in two modes: stationary and online.
 

Curators
Tomasz Fudala
Natalia Sielewicz

Contributors
Sara Alexandre, Marta Bartkowska, Józefina Bartyzel, Maria Beburia, Pamela Bożek, Paweł Brylski, Artur Celiński, Agnieszka Cieśla, Marta Czyż, Wojciech Dada, Aleksandra Dengo, Agata Diduszko-Zyglewska, Agnieszka Dragon, Marianna Dobkowska, Rafał Dominik, Magdalena Drągowska, Michał Frydrych, Taras Gembik, Zuza Golińska, Katarzyna Górna, Anna Grajewska, Karolina Grzywnowicz, Rafał Jakubowicz, Aleksandra Kardach-Zbroja, Ida Karkoszka, Kacper Kępiński, Daniel Kotowski, Dominika Kowynia, Marta Krześlak, Kaja Kusztra, Kasper Lecnim, Michał Łukaszuk, Ewa Majewska, Martyna Miller, Julia Minasiewicz, Jan Możdżyński, Amy Muhoro i Weronika Wysocka, Noemi Ndoloka Mbezi, Margaret Ohia-Nowak, Oleg&Kaśka, Adriana Petriczko, Kamil Pierwszy (Galeria Serce), Post Noviki, Marta Przasnek, Marta Przybył, Mariola Przyjemska , Alicja Rogalska, Jakub Rudziński, Irmina Rusicka, Daniel Rycharski, Tomasz Saciłowski, Beata Siemieniako, Marta Skowrońska-Markiewicz, Mikołaj Sobczak, Kacha Szaniawska, Jakub Szreder, Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, Marta Trakul-Masłowska, Agata Twardoch, Marta Udoh, Ogi Ugonoh, Jolanta Woch, Katarzyna Wojtczak, Jan Eustachy Wolski, Alicja Wysocka, Grupa Za* (Yura Biley, Vera Zalutskaya, Yulia Krivich), Weronika Zalewska, Jan Zygmuntowski, Artur Żmijewski, Paweł Żukowski

Production
Aleksandra Nasiorowska, Maria Nowakowska, Paweł Wójcik

Key visual and graphic design of the exhibition
Kaja Kusztra

Managing editor
Kacha Szaniawska

Translation
Arthur Barys, Joanna Figiel, Agata Ostrowska, Chris Smith

Communication
Marta Bartkowska, Józefina Bartyzel, Ola Długołęcka, Iga Winczakiewicz, Magdalena Zięba-Grodzka

Webdesign
Huncwot

Public program coordinators
Paweł Nowożycki, Paweł Wójcik

Educational program
Paweł Brylski, Adrian Krupa, Marta Przasnek, Marta Przybył, Cezary Wierzbicki, Bernard Wnuk, Jolanta Woch oraz zespół "Użyj Muzeum"

Realization
Jakub Antosz, Marek Franczak, Piotr Frysztak, Szymon Ignatowicz, Aleksander Kalinowski, Robert Kania, Paweł Sobczak, Marcin Szubiak, Michał Ziętek

Cooperation
Meagan Down, Joanna Kasperowska, Andrzej Kowalski, Hubert Kowalski, Michał Kożurno, Agnieszka Kosela, Katarzyna Król, Anna Nagadowska, Magdalena Romanowska, Dagmara Rykalska, Daniel Woźniak

Installation of Amy Muhoro & Weronika Wycoska was produced with support from Sharp.