The Polish delegation was represented by: Piotr Roman – Mayor of Bolesławiec; representatives of the two largest Bolesławiec companies manufacturing ceramics: Wiesław Ogrodnik – President of Zakłady Ceramiczne „Bolesławiec” and Mariusz Ochocki – Artistic Director of the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative „Ceramika Artystyczna”; as well as Krzysztof Hewak – President of the Association of Ceramic Municipalities of the Republic of Poland and Anna Bober-Tubaj – Director of the Museum of Ceramics in Bolesławiec. The opening was also attended by: Ewa Mamaj – Head of the Consular Section of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Rome; Dario dal Verme – Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland for Campania; Giuseppe Canfora – President of Salerno Province; Francesco Benincasa – Mayor of Vietri sul Mare; Giovanni De Simone – Head of the Culture Department of the Vietri sul Mare Municipal Office; Silvia Pacifico – Director of the Salerno Province Museum of Ceramics; Ewa Widak – President of the Italian-Polish Association in Salerno and the Province; and Mario Mosella – consultant to the Vietri sul Mare Municipal Office.
The exhibition presented approximately 650 items, mainly tableware ceramics decorated traditionally with stamps and colourful artistic painting, originating from 23 ceramic plants operating in the city and Bolesławiec County. The exhibition also presented the offerings of four companies supporting local industry by extracting and processing raw materials and producing bodies used to manufacture ceramics. The Bolesławiec products, so different from the traditional maiolica of the Salerno region, made a tremendous impression on visitors. Workshops on ceramic decoration, prepared by employees of the Bolesławiec museum, were also popular.
The following companies participated in the project: Zakłady Ceramiczne „BOLESŁAWIEC” Sp. z o.o. in Bolesławiec; „Ceramika Artystyczna” Artistic Handicraft Cooperative; Fabryka Naczyń Kamionkowych Manufaktura Sp. J. Smoleński & Zwierz; PPHU „Tyrcz” Alina Tyrcz; Ceramika „Zebra”; Ceramika Bolesławiecka Kalich; Wykonywanie Ceramiki Ozdobnej „ADA”; „GALIA” S.C. Ceramika Użytkowa; Ceramika Szlachetna „CER-RAF” Export-Import; Ceramika Artystyczna „Irena” Krzysztof Michalczuk; Ceramika „ARKADIA”; Zakład Ceramiczny „CER-GOR” Kazimierz Gorczyński; PPH „Rutpol” Józef Rutyna; Ceramika Millena S.C. Dariusz Sikorski, Wiesława Seneszyn; Ceramika „CZERNIAK”; WR CERAMIKA S.C. J.K. Rutyna; Ceramika Artystyczna CERMAZ Sp. z o.o.; Zakład Ceramiczny „ANDAR”; PPHU Ceramika Artystyczna „Wiza” Sp. z o.o.; Garncarstwo Błotny S.C.; Manufaktura Ceramiczna Andrzej Kowalczyk; Ceramika Szlachetna „NIKA” S.C.; Studio Ceramiki „Freska” S.C. Helena Straszak, Jerzy Sosik; Bolesławieckie Zakłady Materiałów Ogniotrwałych Sp. z o.o.; KSM SURMIN-KAOLIN S.A.; EKOCERAMIKA Sp. z o.o.; CERAMIC TECHNOLOGIES S.C. The exhibition will be presented in Vietri sul Mare until the end of February 2016.
The opening of the exhibition was part of a rich cultural programme featuring many Polish elements. Some of the activities focused on Irene Kowaliska – an artist of Polish origin who worked in ceramics as well as in functional and decorative textiles. I. Kowaliska, who lived from 1905 to 1991, worked, among other places, in Rome, Positano and Vietri sul Mare – a town that brought together members of an international artistic colony. She had a significant influence on local design, initiating the style known to this day as Naif Vietrese. She also created a modern, independent trend in fashion, known as Positano fashion. Her designed fabrics were appreciated, among others, by actress Ingrid Bergman and members of European royal courts.
To honour this extraordinary figure, a representative seaside square in Vietri sul Mare was named after I. Kowaliska. An exhibition entitled “Irene Kowaliska. In the Mediterranean Myth” was also dedicated to her; it opened on 7 December at the Museo della Ceramica in Villa Guariglia in Vietri, with the participation of the Polish delegation. The curators of the exhibition are Pietro Amos – consultant to the Vietri sul Mare Municipal Office – and Mischa Wegner, the artist’s son, who donated his mother’s legacy to the local museum. The opening was enhanced by a performance by Marlena Szpak, a Polish singer living in Italy, known to Polish audiences for performances with her brother, Michał Szpak.
The exhibition, expanded to include examples of contemporary ceramic works created in Vietri sul Mare and inspired by I. Kowaliska’s work, will be presented at the Museum of Ceramics in Bolesławiec during next year’s Ceramics Festival.