Organizers invite you to the opening of the post-residency exhibition, which will take place on August 22 at 6:00 p.m. in Bolesławiec’s Market Square, in a gallery built specially for the exhibition under the dome.
The international residency in Bolesławiec is the only ceramic residency in Poland to have been held continuously for 50 years. It is a prestigious event not only on Poland’s cultural map, but also worldwide. It effectively promotes the work of outstanding ceramic artists and sculptors from Poland and abroad. To mark the anniversary, as part of the Ceramics Festival, works created in previous years during the Bolesławiec residencies will be presented in three accompanying exhibitions in addition to the post-residency exhibition.
The “50 Years of Ceramic and Sculpture Residencies in Bolesławiec” exhibition will be held at the Museum of Ceramics on Kutuzowa Street. The opening will take place on Saturday, August 23, at 6:00 p.m.
Two exhibitions will be presented at the Town Hall in the Market Square from August 22 to 24. The first will feature works by participants in residencies held in previous years. The second exhibition, “The Women of My Life” (ceramic figurines made of glazed stoneware), will present sculptures by Marita Benke-Gajda. The artist is a lecturer at the Faculty of Sculpture of the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. She has participated in the Bolesławiec residencies many times. Her works have been displayed several times at exhibitions at BOK-MCC and the Museum of Ceramics.
Sculptures created during the Bolesławiec residencies will also be displayed in the lobby of BOK-MCC and in the display window of the Agora Bookstore in the Market Square.
This year’s 50th International Ceramic and Sculpture Artists’ Residency took place in Bolesławiec from June 2 to 27. Fifteen ceramic artists from six countries took part. Poland was represented by: Mateusz Grobelny, the residency commissioner; Krystyna Gay-Kutschenreiter, an honorary participant; Bogusław Dobrowolski, Kazimierz Kalkowski, Piotr Nowak, Edyta Orlińska, Marta Kisiliczyk, Michał Puszczyński and Evelina Wojtowicz; Ukraine by Ihor Kovalevych; Lithuania by Ruta Sipalyte; Spain by Joan Poch I Catala; Italy by Yuri Ragazzini and Luce Raggi; and India by Siraj Saxena.
The artists worked at three Bolesławiec ceramic plants: Zakłady Ceramiczne „BOLESŁAWIEC” Sp. z o.o., „Ceramika Artystyczna” Spółdzielnia Rękodzieła Artystycznego and Fabryka Naczyń Kamionkowych „Manufaktura” Sp. J. Smoleński & Zwierz.
During the residency, three artist talks and multimedia presentations were held with the participation of residents and visitors, during which the artists presented their artistic work. As part of the anniversary residency, the BOK-MCC gallery hosted an exhibition of sculptures and artistic ceramics by Bolesławiec artist Janina Bany-Kozłowska.
The 50th International Ceramic and Sculpture Artists’ Residency in Bolesławiec is carried out as part of the ARGINET project, co-funded by the European Union under the Culture programme.
The project aims to promote dialogue and intercultural exchange in Europe through a system of innovative international cooperation activities involving cultural operators in the ceramic industry. The project’s implementation will enable greater mobility and the functioning at a transnational level of the achievements and experience of individual partners in the fields of artistic ceramics and ceramic craftsmanship. ARGINET proposes introducing, within the existing network of events, an exchange and development programme promoting the participation of artists and ceramic initiatives on a European scale.
Media patronage of the residency: Szkło i Ceramika.
