The anniversary exhibition “50 Years of Ceramic and Sculpture Symposia in Bolesławiec,” featuring more than 100 works created by artists during the various editions of the event, undoubtedly attracted the most visitors.
The exhibition curator, Krystyna Gay-Kutschenreiter, an outstanding ceramic artist and long-serving artistic commissioner of the symposia, sought to select the works in a way that would best reflect the character of the symposium as an artistic event bringing together artists from different cultural and generational circles, with diverse artistic views, perceptions of reality and experiences.
At the same time, the exhibition illustrates different trends and transformations in art over the last half-century. It presents both sculptural works from the 1960s and works created by young artists over the past several years. This cross-sectional character makes the exhibition a unique attempt to summarize the extraordinary phenomenon of the Bolesławiec Ceramic and Sculpture Symposia, which have continued for half a century.
The exhibition was supplemented with retrospective archival material: old catalogues, posters, photographs and chronicles from the private collections of Krystyna Gay-Kutschenreiter and the Museum of Ceramics in Bolesławiec.
An 80-page publication accompanies the exhibition. It has received the honorary patronage of the Mayor of Bolesławiec, Piotr Roman, and the President of the Board of the Wrocław District of the Association of Polish Artists and Designers, Piotr Wieczorek, who supported this artistic undertaking for many years.
The publication is divided into two parts. The first contains essay-style texts by Piotr Wieczorek (President of the Board of the Wrocław District of the Association of Polish Artists and Designers), Zbigniew Makarewicz (lecturer at the Faculty of Painting and Sculpture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław), Ariadna Sarnowicz (art historian and lecturer at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław), Ewa Han (art critic, journalist and owner of the Academia Nova gallery in Wrocław), and Krystyna Gay-Kutschenreiter (artistic commissioner of the symposia from 1990 to July 2005). These people were closely associated with the symposia for many years, so their statements contain no shortage of emotional and deeply moving words.
The second part of the publication contains biographies of artists who took part in the symposia from 1964 to 2014, prepared on the basis of catalogues published and available to date.
The opening of this extraordinary exhibition took place on 23 August at the Museum of Ceramics. Many artists who had participated in previous editions of the event attended, including Prof. Grażyna Płocica, Paulina Pokorny-Ziemba, Janina Bany-Kozłowska, Mieczysław Kozłowski, Janina Sarzyńska, Barbara Kozłowska-Trojnar, Marta Małoszyc-Silbert, and Edyta Orlińska.
Among the many guests who attended the exhibition opening were also the authors of the catalogue texts: Piotr Wieczorek, Ariadna Sarnowicz and Ewa Han, who shared their reflections on the phenomenon of the Bolesławiec symposium, an artistic event with the longest history in Poland.
Bolesławiec Mayor Piotr Roman also spoke, describing the symposium’s enormous influence on the city’s cultural development. He thanked the former artistic commissioners who attended the ceremony for the effort they had devoted to organizing the symposium: Krystyna Strużyna-Kunecka, Anna Malicka-Zamorska, Krystyna Gay-Kutschenreiter and Władysław Garnik.
Deputy Chairwoman of the Bolesławiec City Council Janina Piestrak-Babijczuk highlighted the contribution of Bolesławiec ceramics manufacturers to creating the symposia. For years, they have welcomed artists and provided them with suitable working conditions. She conveyed her thanks to the representatives of local factories present at the opening: Karol Stasik, President of the Management Board of Zakłady Ceramiczne “Bolesławiec” Sp. z o.o., and Helena Smoleńska, President of the Management Board of “Ceramika Artystyczna” Artistic Handicraft Cooperative.
The co-organizer of the event was the Bolesławiec Cultural Centre–International Ceramics Centre, represented by its director, Ewa Lijewska-Małachowska. The opening was conducted by the director of the Museum of Ceramics, Anna Bober-Tubaj, and exhibition curator Krystyna Gay-Kutschenreiter.
Traditional Crafts Workshops
The traditional crafts workshops organized by the Museum during the Ceramic Festival were no less popular than the exhibition. The sessions were held throughout the weekend in the garden on Mickiewicza Street, with a special stand also set up in the Market Square.
The museum garden hosted jewellery-making and ceramics workshops, intended especially for children. Under an instructor’s supervision, young people made a clay replica of Bolesławiec Town Hall and the townhouses surrounding the Market Square.
The workshops held at a special stand designed as an old wooden cart in the city centre had a somewhat different character. Demonstrations were held there showing how to weave baskets from willow shoots, straw, string and other materials. Visitors could also try their hand at making felt-wool products. Anyone could create figurines, brooches or other decorations by hand using a special needle. The workshops were part of the Via Fabrilis: Trail of Craft Traditions II project, carried out by the Museum of Ceramics in Bolesławiec in cooperation with the Karkonosze Museum in Vrchlabi.
Since the beginning of the season, the Via Fabrilis craft cart, which hosted various traditional crafts workshops, had visited many outdoor events organized in cities across the region. It had been to Wleń (the 800th anniversary of Wleń being granted town rights, 1214–2014), Lwówek Śląski (Lwóweckie Lato Agato), Karpacz (the 170th anniversary of the reconstruction of the Wang Church in Karpacz), Lubomierz (the National Comedy Film Festival), Szklarska Poręba (the ART. SKWER Festival), Bolesławiec (the Ceramic Festival), and most recently Zgorzelec (Jakuby).
At the stand, visitors could not only take part in the free activities but also receive promotional materials and detailed information about the VIA FABRILIS Trail of Craft Traditions.
This year’s Ceramic Festival is now history. Until 30 September 2014, the exhibition “50 Years of Ceramic and Sculpture Symposia in Bolesławiec” can still be viewed at the Museum of Ceramics at 14 Kutuzowa Street. We invite you to thematic traditional crafts workshops next year.