The Land of Zgorzelec 2021-2023
Basic information
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Full project title
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Project Description
The Land Land of Zgorzelec 2021-2021 is a series of ecological artistic plein-airs that recall a similar Polish tradition from the 1960s/70s. The aim of the project is to bring together different actors: artists, designers, environmental NGOs, ecological activists, scientists, academics and the local community, to work collectively on a vision for a just transition and a better, green future for Opolno-Zdrój - a former spa town located on the edge of the infamous Turów coal mine and powerplant.
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Description of the project
Summary
Opolno-Zdrój is a former spa town located in the Zgorzelec region, directly on the edge of the Turów coal mine. In 1971 a group of conceptual and land artists went to Opolno-Zdrój to organize the first ecological artistic plein-air entitled “The Land of Zgorzelec 1971”. The event was attended by many artists as well as scientists, researchers and representatives of the local community. The event was one of the many artistic plein-airs of the 1960s/70s that played a crucial role in raising the environmental awareness among the artistic community. The goal of plein-airs was to inspire artists to work together with scientists, experts and local communities to creatively react to important social, economical and technological issues. The theme of “The Land of Zgorzelec 1971” was the impact of humans on the planet. The imminence of the industrial landscape and the ecologically-focused program =, inspired the participants to propose new, often utopian solutions for Opolno Zdrój.
Our project aims at reviving the tradition of plein-airs, to once again bring together arts, design, research, science and local communities to envision the just, ecological transition for Opolno-Zdrój. We will inaugurate the project in August 2021, when on the 50th anniversary of the original 1971 plein-air, artists, together with scientists, researchers and activists will visit Opolno-Zdrój again. During the Land of Zgorzelec 2021-2023 plein-airs they will join the representatives of the local community to continue the discussions started in 1971 and adapt them to the contemporary context. The plein-airs will attract more attention to the situation of Opolno-Zdrój, as well as bring together different actors to collectively imagine a vision of a green future for the whole region. We want to use “soft” tools of art, design and research as well as creative imagination to engage with the local community and discuss what can “just transition”, and “green future” mean in a place like Opolno-Zdrój.
Key objectives for sustainability
Our project aims to mobilize arts, design, science and research to take part in the ongoing debate on Europe’s just transition and its social costs. The case of Opolno Zdrój and Turów coal mine highlights all of its key tensions and problems: the Turów mine and powerplant have become widely discussed in Europe when the Czech government brought a case against Poland in the Court of Justice of the European Union, accusing the mine of draining it’s water supplies. It happened just after the Polish government extended the license of the mine and allowed it to expand, which not only stands in direct conflict with just transition goals, but also means the destruction of half of the town of Opolno-Zdrój. Many precious buildings, including 19th century spa facilities, will be demolished; the social tensions and problems of the local community will escalate and the local environment and landscape will be further destroyed.
Working in this context, our aim is to use art, design, research and activism as tools to facilitate the process of Opolno-Zdrój’s transition to a sustainable, green, just future. We want to new ideas for the future of Opolno-Zdrój and commission and realize new sustainable designs, ecological artworks and long-term social/cultural animation projects in the town. We also want to forge strong, sustainable, long-term relationships between participants of the plein-airs and the local community - we intend to organize one plein-air every year, run long-term projects and open an arts residency center on site. To achieve this, we’ve built an interdisciplinary coalition around the project - our partners include environmental NGOs Eko-Unia and Greenpeace Poland, activists from Extinction Rebellion, academics from Wrocław, Opole and Warsaw; artists, designers and social researchers from all over the country as well as representatives of the Opolno Zdój community - the mayor, director of the school and leaders of local associations.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
The Land of Zgorzelec 2021-2023 plein-airs are organized by the Office for Postartistic services - a division of the NGO Foundation Bęc Zmiana, that focuses on supporting social movements, including ecological activists and environmental organizations, with artistic imagination and creative tools of arts and design. The Office’s network encompasses over 400 artists, designers, scientists, researchers and activists from all over Poland. The Office focuses on using art beyond the artworld and treating it as a tool to support social action and change. Most of the participants of the plein-airs are recruited via this extensive network of the Office.
In our projects for the Land of Zgorzelec 2021-2023 plein-airs we take inspiration from outstanding Polish artists from the 1960/70’s who participated in the 1971 event. Among the projects we plan to realize are: archive containing the stories and memories of Opolno Zdrój; debates on art, ecology and just transition; reenactments of the events of 1971 plein-air; “Guide to the future of Opolno Zdrój'' artistic guidebook; community garden; walks exploring the historical, geological and environmental aspects of Opolno-Zdrój; screenings; performances; mapping the lost waters of the spa of Opolno Zdrój (which were the foundation of the 19th century spa complex) and a performative parade under the slogan “Long live Opolno Zdrój!”. We will also realize the ideas proposed by the inhabitants of Opolno Zdrój, such as: sculpture workshops for children; preservation works on the valuable architecture of the town; mural painted on the facade of the school; nominating local trees as nature monuments; photographs, paintings and drawings of natural landscape of Opolno Zdrój and nearby area. We also want to use our artistic skills to create spectacular and attractive images of Opolno-Zdrój that can help to tell the story of the town in the media as well as be used for the campaigning purposes of Greenpeace and Eko-Unia.
Key objectives for inclusion
The people of Opolno-Zdrój, who live on the edge of the Turów mine and powerplant have been feeling silenced and ignored for decades. The local community is caught in a deadlock. On the one hand they are dependent on the biggest employer in the region - the mine and powerplant. On the other - they know that the extractivist complex degrades the environment, threatens their well-being, shatters social bonds and destroys their land and homes.
One of the main goals of our project is to use interdisciplinary tools to give voice to people of Opolno Zdrój, who are often portrayed as those who oppose the just transition of the region. We want to give them the opportunity to imagine and express their own vision of future life in their town. The plein-airs we will connect the center of Poland with its peripheries: we will bring established artists, designers and academics from big municipalities to the peripheral region of Zgorzelec to use their skills and experience to convey the story of Opolno Zdrój to the general public and amplify the voices of its inhabitants.
All of the projects that we will realize in the frame of The Land of Zgorzelec 2021-2023 plein-airs assume the participation of the local community. To foster and encourage participation we’ve invited academics specializing in cultural animation to the plein-airs. We are also working together with the leaders of the Opolno-Zdrój community - the mayor of the town, the director of the school and local associations. Together with them we’ve come up with a number of projects to realize during the plein-airs, that directly address the needs of the community. Many of the plein-air activities will focus on archiving and preserving both the social memory of Opolno-Zdrój and its valuable spa architecture. Finally, one of the key ideas of the plein-airs is to “lend” artistic, design, activist and research skills to the local community to help it assemble a vision for a green, sustainable, just future of Opolno-Zdr
Innovative character
There are many innovative characteristics in our approach to the project. We want to use artistic imagination and tools to work outside of the artworld - we explore what art can offer the society in the context of climate crisis, just transition and envisioning new, sustainable, green ways of living. To do it, we bring together arts, design, science, research, activist skills; history of a specific and emblematic place - Opolno Zdój; as well as the local community to collectively work on the vision of just transition and future life in the town. Although artists, designers, activists and academics won’t make any political decisions - they close down the mine and powerplant- they can share their skills, tools and knowledge with the inhabitants of Opolno-Zdrój to amplify their voice and support their struggles. Arts, design, research, cultural animation and other “soft methods” are exactly what might help places like Opolno Zdrój and their communities - they are perfectly suited to working in the context of tense, conflictual social situations
The Land of Zgorzelec 2021-2023 plein-airs bring together not only different actors - but also different themes and fields, such as art history, socially engaged art, just transition and European politics. Our project aims at reviving the unique local tradition of artistic ecological plein-airs, not only to reawaken social memory and reconstruct historical practices and discussions, but most of all to adapt them to contemporary context and use them in the ongoing debates on just transition and the green future. We mobilize the imagination and engagement of contemporary artists and designers not to to “make art” or “organize a series of events” but rather to amplify and disseminate an important story, work with the local community and bring together different social actors to assemble a vision of a common, better, just and green future, for the local community, for Poland and, perhaps, for the whole Europe.
