meeting

The process of artistic research and networking meetings entitled "Co-Thinking" began with a summit held in Chęciny on 26-28 July 2024. The main objective of the first meeting was to get to know each other and to map the relationships that connect the participants

On Thursday, 6 June 2024, we had the pleasure of tasting chilled kombucha and sampling vegan delicacies at the Warsaw Observatory of Culture, all thanks to the annual meeting with the winners of the City of Warsaw's artistic scholarships, as well as directors and representatives of cultural institutions. We can humbly say that the invited guests had a great time listening to the achievements of the 55 scholarship holders.

At the end of 2023, the Warsaw Observatory of Culture became a member of the international information network supporting artistic and cultural mobility. Today, the network consists of 69 members from 23 countries. Its main objective is to support various stakeholders in the field of culture and arts and to promote mobility as a universal value of professional development.

On 18 March 2024, a meeting of representatives of the Warsaw dance community with Catja Loepfe, the artistic director of Tanzhaus Zürich (TZ), took place at WOK.Lab. The guest spoke about the establishment of the Swiss dance institution in the 1990s, its new premises and current activities within the broader framework of performance arts in the city.

The Warsaw Observatory of Culture is researching the local artistic community and its needs by observing the municipal infrastructure of art studios. The aim of the project is to increase the visibility of art studios and empower artists by highlighting the importance of these premises to the functioning of the city’s cultural scene.

In mid-November, we visited the Nowy Theatre on ul. Madalińskiego as part of our work on planning the Warsaw Dance Centre. This time we were inspired by a post-industrial space adapted to the needs of a theatre.

At the beginning of November, we went on a study visit with representatives of the dance community to the Vistula Pavilion, which now houses the Museum of Modern Art. The pavilion will be adapted to meet the needs of a pilot dance programme next year.

WOK Lab host the FSH1 platform for Belarusian photographers. On July 12, 2023, a networking meeting was held aimed at people from the Belarusian art community interested in contemporary photography.

On May 31, the Warsaw Observatory of Culture (WOK) held a meeting between the holders of the City of Warsaw scholarship with directors of cultural institutions. Its purpose was to encourage discussion on matters important to culture in Warsaw now and from a long-term perspective of 150 years. The experts from infuture.institute, whose report served as inspiration, estimated that adopting this long-term perspective is crucial for ensuring a positive future for our cities and culture, benefiting our children and grandchildren.

The guest speakers invited to a panel discussion about the international governance management practices for institutions of culture in the context of contemporary social and political challenges were as follows: Bart de Baere, long-time Director of the M HKA, or the Contemporary Art Museum in Antwerp, chairman of the Museum Watch programme and co-author of the "Governance Management Project", and Dr Aleksandra Janus, Director of the Centrum Cyfrowe, researcher and curator of cultural projects, co-author of the Museum Laboratory project.