European Culture Congress, September 8 – 11, 2011, Wrocław

Four days − 100 interdisciplinary events and projects, 300 masters and alternative artists, over 90 thousand square meters

One of the foremost events in the Polish Presidency of 2011 will be the European Culture Congress, which will take place September 8 – 11, 2011 in an exceptional city and location. The Congress will be hosted by Wrocław, a European Capital of Culture 2016 candidate city that has for years been one of the most culturally thriving spots on the map of Europe.

Culture will take center stage at this extraordinary event. The interdisciplinary program of the Congress will feature 300 artists, academics, philosophers, and activists, including Zygmunt Bauman, Brian Eno, Jan Fabre, Oliviero Toscani, Azra Akšamija, Zbigniew Libera, Mirosław Bałka, Zbigniew Rybczyński, Krzysztof Penderecki, Johnny Greenwood (), Aphex Twin, Krystian Lupa and Dorota Masłowska, Stefan Kaegi, Amos Oz, Wilhelm Sasnal, Grupa Kompott, Miasto w Komie, Lawrence Mark “Larry” Sanger , and Fatos Lubonja .

Over the course of just four days, these guests will take part in exceptional panels/discussions and participate in 100 original projects. All of this will take place in a setting specially designed for the Congress by the creators of the Polish Pavilion at the Shanghai EXPO: Boris Kudlička , stage designer at the Grand Theatre National Opera in , famous for his collaborations with Mariusz Treliński, along with artists from WWAA studio.

The Congress will be the first event of its kind in Europe. It differs from other initiatives in its problem- oriented approach to culture, but most importantly, it combines the theory and practice of culture , giving all participants an opportunity to encounter the many manifestation of culture found in Wrocław, , and Europe. Interdisciplinary artistic projects will be held alongside discussions on select phenomena and problems in contemporary culture. The key elements of the European Culture Congress will be:  A meeting of EU Ministers of Culture  Panels and discussions  Debates held as a part of the A Soul for Europe initiative  Artistic events

CONCEPTS The European Culture Congress (ECC) will be an opportunity to reflect on the prospects and possible scenarios for the development of European culture . The Congress will provide a space in which to debate the issue of community in diversity, to think about what the driving force behind European culture is, and whether it is necessary to search for a common denominator in variety. The program of the Congress is based on a book by Professor Zygmunt Bauman which discusses the condition of contemporary European culture and its prospects for future development. The book, initiated by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage and written specially for the Congress, will be published in Poland (Agora) and the (Polity Press). The main theme of the Congress will be – “Art for Social Change.” Art for Social Change is a concept that describes artistic ventures aimed at increasing the social and artistic awareness of its participants. It is a field of contemporary art that has an influence on society and can be a force for change while inspiring innovation and critical thinking. “At its inception and in the fundamental concepts of its program, the Congress has already surpassed its name and format. The idea and main theme are a call to action and a declaration that change is possible. Art for Social Change is an attitude that can be assumed by anyone who creates or participates in culture, allowing them to recognize the potential for change that it holds. Through creative action, and perceiving oneself and one’s own actions in a broader context, culture and art can be treated as causative values, ones that are deeply rooted in the real world and which enter into a dialog with it,” explains Michał Merczyński, director of the National Audiovisual Institute. Grassroots culture produced by nongovernmental organizations will have a strong presence at the Culture, in keeping with the EU’s 2011 theme of volunteering, and in response to the idea of social innovation through culture, which plays an important role in the development of social capital, as outlined in the “Poland 2030” strategy. Another crucial element of the Congress will be a debate on the role of culture and its financing at the European level. The goal of the debate will be to develop practical solutions that will foster changes in how culture is treated in the discussion and the budget at the EU level. Participants of the events will include theoreticians, artists, cultural organizers, and journalists from the as well as countries such as Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, , and . The format of the Congress will be more like a social and cultural festival, rather than a purely academic debate. The Honorary Committee of the ECC, established by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, will comprise: choreographer Jan Fabre , composer Arvo Pärt , composer Krzysztof Penderecki , poet Tadeusz Różewicz , philosopher Umberto Eco , philosopher Peter Sloterdijk , film director Andrzej Wajda , writer Amos Oz , writer and politician Vaclav Havel , and film director Alan Parker . The ECC Council, established by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, comprises: director of the International Festival Jonathan Mills , director of the International Festival d’Avignon Vincent Baudriller , Berlinale IFF director Dieter Kosslick , director of the International Golden Mask Theatre Festival in Moscow Maria Revaykina , curator Anda Rottenberg , director of the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna Krzysztof Michalski , writer Dubravka Ugrešić , director of the International Theatre Festival in Yorgos Loukos , director of the Bonierskonsthall in Sara Arrhenius , writer Wiktor Jerofiejew , writer Paul Scheffer , director of The Prague Spring International Music Festival Roman Bělor , director of the Grec Festival in Ricardo Szwarcer , sculptor and performer Grzegorz Kowalski , cultural anthropologist Wojciech Burszta , and IRCAM director Frank Madlener .

CONGRESS PROGRAM Inaugural lecture by Professor Zygmunt Bauman The eminent Polish philosopher, sociologist, and astute observer of culture will deliver a lecture on new strategies for European culture, at an exceptional venue – Wrocław’s Centennial Hall. Panels and discussion featuring theoreticians and practicians will be devoted to the foremost issues in contemporary culture, grouped around the following themes: MASSES OF CULTURE (open culture) – contemporary culture is created by several billion participants. In the online “mass of culture,” the borders between what does and does not constitute art have long been blurred. Anyone can be a creator in today’s world, resulting in an inexhaustible supply in of culture. This issue involves problems of control and censorship, and poses questions on where the center and margins of contemporary culture lie. What is open culture – is it a blessing of choice or a curse of abundance? CULTURE INC . (culture and economy) – from the economic perspective, there is no difference between culture and industry. This approach at once benefits and threatens the development of culture. As a stimulating factor in the economy and a real source of income, culture deserves the support of business and the state. There exists, however, a threat of intellectual and artistic impoverishment of the concept of culture: economic indicators need not correspond to the intellectual and aesthetic products of culture, and should not be used in their assessment. How should culture make use of free market mechanisms without itself becoming their victim? What alternative economic models would foster its development? LOBBYING FOR CULTURE (advocacy) – advocacy in culture entails lobbying for a modern, effective cultural policy treated on par with social and economic policy. It is also strives to increase social awareness by informing the public opinion on the workings of culture and their influence on society. What makes cultural lobbying effective? What competencies should a cultural support group display? LOST IN CULTURE (interdisciplinarity) – art has long questioned and abandoned the traditional boundaries between various forms of expression. We live in a culture of radical interdisciplinarity. Experimental art employs the language of science and subverts the concepts of aesthetics and artistry, encompassing hitherto excluded fields into its realm of artistic consideration and expanding its own definition at an increasing rate. What new cultural competencies are required in order to understand the contemporary interdisciplinary work of art? DANGEROUS LIAISONS (power and culture) – the concept of soft power is a relatively recent addition to the vocabulary of cultural discourse, but the practice of exploiting culture as a tool of colonizing the world – and our immediate surroundings – is timeless. Culture is used by governments as an alternative, non-violent medium for instilling and reinforcing ideology. However, cultural policy presents only a selection of phenomena as representative, attractive, and worthwhile, while others are overlooked or rejected. Are the benefits of the marriage between power and culture greater than the possible threats? ALIEN EUROPE (what does it mean to be European) – the term “European” encompasses a number of communities: national, local, and religious. Nevertheless, its definition often depends on the demands of the moment, and these are frequently dictated by political or economic considerations. Definitions impose arbitrary intellectual, cultural, and moral standards, giving rise to an abstract, “top-down” European character which fails to correspond to one’s personal experience. The question of who is alien in Europe is thus more than just a question about the coexistence of cultures and religions, or a question of immigration policy. It is a question about different categories of “Europeanness” constructed by Europe itself. Is “Europeanness” anything more than just an intellectual construct? RECYCLED CULTURE (how ideas are recycled in art) – the idea of recycling has not left the world of culture untouched. Recycling in culture encompasses the use of existing doctrines, texts, and forms, the reinterpretation of phenomena and artifacts, as well as their subversion. It is associated with the pervasive sense that “everything has already been done,” and whatever is new is based on work that has already been conceived, created, and discussed. One of the purposes of modifying and combining often disparate elements is the desire to reuse and reinterpret them in a new context. However, the use of existing work may also sometimes be a mere shortcut used to mask a lack of creativity on the part of the author. What is the original today, and how do we tell creativity and empty transformation apart? WIKIANARCHY (freedom in culture) – culture is increasingly headed towards freely-available media used by billions of creators/consumers. Demands for the release of works, or a significant liberalization of the restrictions on the use of cultural heritage, are being raised with growing frequency. On the other hand, the position of those favoring strict control over rights and access to content is becoming increasingly radical. Are there any alternatives to wikianarchy and the dictatorship of the author? THE CYBERIAD (new culture, new media, new aesthetics) – new media enable the presentation and replay of content (images, 3D animation), as well as the generation of alternative worlds. Changes in the imaging of reality can influence human identity, increasingly binding it to the possibilities offered by technology. How does modern man navigate the world of castes described by Umberto Eco – the cognitariat, the digitariat, and and the lumpenariat? LABORATORY OF RISK (art and science) – terms such as biotechnology, game theory, and fractals have become a permanent addition to the artist’s vocabulary. Artists use scientific achievements: they broaden definitions, and exploit mathematical paradoxes and antinomies. The symbiosis of both fields goes beyond the rapid progress of technology. Artistic and scientific endeavors are connected by their participants’ willingness to take risks and experiment, which is crucial in the processes of exploration, invention, and creation. Is the modern artist becoming a scientist? Or perhaps it is the scientists who is becoming an artist? CULTURE AT THE DIGITAL FRONTIER – the oppositions of open/closed (copyright) and private/public (digitization models – grassroots vs. centralized and institutionalized) are imposed on contemporary digital culture and digitization processes. Digital culture also categorizes consumers according to the opposition of inclusion/exclusion. This panel will discuss issues associated with the protection of cultural heritage through digitization, choosing distribution channels for digitized archives, and the creative use of these archives. The panel will bridge the topics discussed at the closed session for EU Ministers of Culture and the meetings open to the public. Meeting of the A Soul for Europe initiative: The aim of the initiative is to develop new models of cooperation between policy makers and EU institutions, national governments, and representatives of the EU’s active social organizations. The steering committee comprises Hans–Gert Pöttering, Elmar Brok, and Jan Figiel, while its council members include Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Timothy Garton Ash, Jacques Delors, and Dieter Berg. The A Soul for Europe debates will address issues such as: Culture and the economy; Culture in a changing Europe; and The role of cinematography in constituting the European identity . The goal of the ASfE debates will be to develop practical solutions that will foster change in how culture is treated in the discussion and the budget at the EU level.

ARTISTIC SECTION Aside from discussions with European intellectuals and artists, the program of the European Culture Congress will include plays and performances, concerts, film screenings and musical events, as well as exhibitions featuring the visual arts, architecture, and design. “Most of the events are designed to cross the boundaries of genres, in keeping with the concept of the Congress and the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary art. Spectacular performances for the general public will coincide with low-key projects such as experimental music events,” says Katarzyna Wielga, coordinator of both the Presidency’s national cultural program and the program of the Congress. The program will feature a fireworks show by the French Groupe F and performances by world renowned musicians. Next to such distinguished names as Krzysztof Penderecki, Krystian Lupa, Jan Fabre, and Fatos Lubonja , participants will have a chance to see a younger generation of artists: the design group Kompott and the band Tetris, as well as Dorota Masłowska, and Artur Rojek, who created the program for the Congress festival club. MUSIC: An unprecedented encounter between renowned composers and musicians will take place at the Congress. One musical project will team up Krzysztof Penderecki with Radiohead guitarist Johnny Greenwood – a composer who feels completely at home in the “classical” instrumentarium and who has expressed his fondness for Krzysztof Penderecki’s music – along with guru Aphex Twin. Curated by: Filip Berkowicz. World famous composer, musical producer and rock musician Brian Eno , who has performed with such acts as Roxy Music, U2, Talking Heads, and David Bowie, will present a two-part music and audiovisual project at the Wrocław Multimedia Fountain, one specially prepared for the ECC: 77 million paintings for Wrocław . frontman and director Artur Rojek created the concert lineup for the ECC festival club. The Polish and European acts selected for the projects are artists whose music attempts to address the problems of contemporary society.

THEATRE / PERFORMANCE: One of the main events of the Congress will be a double premiere of plays by Krystian Lupa and Dorota Masłowska. The dramas will be the result of laboratory work, and will be written as rehearsals progress. The project will be experimental not just in terms of the methods used (with Lupa’s recent performances serving as a starting point), but also because of its confrontation of two strong personalities separated by their age and aesthetics. The project is part of the Trickster 2011 performance program. The program is strongly inspired by the work of the Orange Alternative and the archetype of the trickster. The program will not feature any events authored by the famous activists, nor will it present any documentation of their achievements. It will instead strive to invoke their spirit of non-conformity and attempt a subversive play on the reality found “here and now.” While sparking a discussion about values, it will also signal the traps that lie in a European identity, Europe’s cultural heritage, and its social and political condition. Trickster 2011 will feature projects by such artists as: Massimo Furlan (famous for a 2007 event where he assumed the role of Zbigniew Boniek at Warsaw’s ruined 10th-Anniversary Stadium and, by himself, replayed the Poland- game from the 1982 World Cup in ), who will recreate the 1973 Eurovision contest as a TV show; Monika Strzępka and Paweł Demirski, winners of the “Polityka Passport” award, a duo famous for their astute diagnosis of social neuroses, who will take on the problems of discrimination and the commercialization of public space; and Société Réaliste, who will address the US visa lottery and exploitative websites in order to cast light on the problem of global migration and to analyze the European Union’s immigration policy. Curated by: Agata Siwiak. Groupe F , one of the most famous fireworks theaters in the world, known for its spectacular open-air performances as well as its enormous pyrotechnic displays over such landmarks as the Eiffel Tower, London’s Big Ben, and the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, who will prepare a spectacular, parallel performance at Wrocław’s Ostrów Tumski.

DESIGN / ARCHITECTURE: Discursive Furniture Can furniture be used to provoke discussion? Designers from the Kompott group have decided to find out. “Discursive furniture” will differ from other public space projects in one crucial detail – the furniture will be mobile. The objects will remain in Wrocław as a visible souvenir of the Congress. Promised World is an exhibition of architecture and design, inspired by the 1939 World Fair in New York, which bore the ominous title “Building the World of Tomorrow.” Both in the context of politics, whose mechanisms are based to a great extent on making promises, as well as in the context of social engineering, which employs a variety of promises in managing public opinion. The show will be based on the concept of the promise, a crucial political paradigm that plays an important role in social engineering and managing public opinion. Curated by: Katarzyna Roj

FILM: The program of the Congress would not be complete without films. The creators of the ERA NEW HORIZONS IFF , which draws thousands of cinema-lovers to the city annually, have prepared a film review under the intriguing title FUNNY GAMES EU. Each section of the review will present renowned filmmakers and leading trends in film, from neorealism, French New Wave cinema, the struggle against censorship, social films, and psychological films. The selection of European films from the past decade will show the full stylistic and thematic richness in European cinema as well the persistence of its tradition. The pre-Congress events have already started with Dock's Docs / Gdańsk Remix , a remix contest for the most interesting collage of documentary footage from the Gdańsk Shipyard. From February to April 2011, internet users from all over the world will get to remix video provided by the National Audiovisual Institute (NINA) and the Institut National de l'Audiovisuel (INA) on Dailymotion.com. The footage comes from the INA archives (news reels from the 1980s), Video Studio Gdańsk (the largest film archive on the shipyard’s Solidarity movement), videos made by the PGR ART collective, as well as sound recordings courtesy of the artist Adam Witkowski. Submitted mashups will be rated by an international panel of judges comprising: Zbigniew Rybczyński , Wilhelm Sasnal , media scientist Ryszard Kluszczyński, Nick Holdsworth, Variety, and Mathieu Gallet , director of the Institut National de l’Audiovisuel (INA). The Congress will be documented by Miasta w Komie (Cities in Cells). The project will consist of two installments, the first of which will be posted as a videoblog on the ECC website, while the second will take place at the Congress itself. The videoblog on the ECC site will feature short video interviews, shot on cell phones, with artists, cultural organizers, and citizens of Polish cities, all of whom will discuss issues associated with the theme CULTURE/EUROPE. In part two, Miasta w Komie members as well as participants of the project will use cellular phones to film the events taking place at the Congress. A media center located on the Congress grounds will provide access to monitors and telephones. Participants and audience members will be invited to record their own statements, impressions, and opinions. VISUAL ARTS: Exhibitions based around the main concept of the Congress, created by ten curators of the younger generation, selected by acclaimed curators from Poland and abroad: Joanna Mytkowska (Poland), Warsaw MoMA; Dorota Monkiewicz (Poland), Wrocław Museum of Contemporary Art; Maria Lind (), curator and art critic, director of the Munich Kunstverein and the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, and curator of the Biennale ; Hans Ulrich Obrista (), director and curator of the famous London Serpentine Gallery; Charles Esche (), curator, director of the Muzeum van Abbe in Eindhoven, curator of the RIWAQ biennale in Ramallah, the biennale in Istanbul, and former director of the Malmö Centre for Cotemporary Art; Adam Budak (Austria), curator of Kunsthaus Graz; Marta Kuzma (Ukraine), director of the Office for Contemporary Art , the first director of the Centre for Contemporary Art in Kiev, financed by the Soros Foundation, curator of the Manifesta European Biennale; Laura Stašāna (Latvia), New Theatre Institute; Zora Jaurova (Slovakia), art director of the Košice European Capital of Culture 2013 project; and Aneta Szyłak (Poland), director of the Wyspa Institute of Art in Gdańsk. FORMATS: Formatting is a recent phenomenon in art which has taken European institutions by storm, from renowned museums to informal cultural centers. The concept of the format has its roots in television production. The artist/curator will conceive a structure for an art project, and give other artists/curators a license to use it. It is up to them to provide the structure with content. The popular contemporary art formats presented at the Congress will provide an opportunity to reflect on what it is that makes formats such a dominating part of art all over the world. Does the structure facilitate communication between artists and audiences of different cultures, or is the opposite true? Congress participants will have a unique opportunity to take part in four formatted projects : Emergency Room, a space for artistic expression invented by the Danish artist Thierry Geoffroy , where artists comment the events of the Congress with in situ artwork; Social Innovation Camp , a workshop for webmasters, IT specialists, designers, artists, sociologists, cultural anthropologists, representatives of the media, and leaders of NGOs; as well as Pecha Kucha , an event that provides Polish and European NGOs with a chance to present new projects to an audience, and network or collaborate with each other.

All the events at the European Culture Congress will take place simultaneously and intertwine with the artistic portion of the program. Artistic events will occur in city spaces and Wrocław’s cultural institutions, as well as the Congress grounds themselves, i.e. Centennial Hall, the Feature Film Company, and the Four Dome Pavilion. The European Culture Congress is organized by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the National Audiovisual Institute, and Wrocław City Hall. The National Audiovisual Institute is responsible for the concept and implementation of the European Culture Congress. The European Culture Congress is created in partnership with: Centennial Hall in Wrocław, The Feature Film Company, Culture Action Europe, A Soul for Europe, the European Cultural Foundation, European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC), Polish Institutes abroad, Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM), and Akademie der Künste.