Several years ago, President Tadeusz Krzakowski encouraged artistic circles to undertake an initiative, such as a competition, to develop concepts for symbolic gates leading to Legnica’s historic park. The aim was to create additional architectural elements enriching the park’s revitalization program and emphasizing its main entrances. The Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław responded to this proposal. The results of the students’ work can be seen at an exhibition prepared by the Art Gallery.
The works were created during classes in sculpture design in architecture and urban planning, conducted with fourth-year sculpture students at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław under the supervision of lecturers: Waldemar Szmatuła, Tomasz Niedziółka, Christos Mandzios, Tomasz Tomaszewski, Karolina Szymanowska and Piotr Wesołowski.
The students were tasked with creating a “gate” to the park in Legnica. To this end, together with their instructors, they conducted a site visit in the city and familiarized themselves with a study concerning the revitalization of the park grounds.
The various locations and character of the sites were important considerations in developing the spatial proposals. This concerned the park itself, its layout and components, such as a meadow, an avenue, low and tall greenery, a river, an embankment, a bridge, and so on, as well as connections with the surrounding urban neighborhood and its character. The history of the site was also important, particularly the recent hurricane and windthrows that damaged the park’s tree stand and affected the functional character of the sites—for example, the main entrance, an important pedestrian route, a place in contact with the city-center buildings, or a location on the park’s outskirts adjoining wild vegetation.
The instructors encouraged the students to conduct an in-depth spatial and historical analysis of the area and to seek unconventional solutions. This did not necessarily mean forcing originality, but rather developing their own interpretation of the problem resulting from thorough work on the subject. A series of projects was created as a result, and selected works can be seen at the exhibition in the Ring Gallery in Legnica. Admission is free.
The authors of the works selected for the exhibition are: Małgorzata Biernacka, Paweł Czekański, Roland Grabkowski, Janusz Jasiński, Grzegorz Łoznikow, Wojciech Małek and Jagoda Siegień, Michał Niedziewicz, Ewa Stankiewicz and Szymon Wojtyła.
UM Legnica/ii