dance

26 lutego 2024 roku Warszawskie Obserwatorium Kultury zorganizowało spotkanie przedstawicielek środowiska tanecznego ze Slavą Gepnerem, dyrektorem zarządzającym i artystycznym oraz pomysłodawcą TanzFaktur w Kolonii. Spotkanie miało na celu poznanie historii tej instytucji oraz zdobycie wiedzy o tym, jak budować nowe miejsce dla tańca, czego w tym procesie unikać oraz jak współpracować ze środowiskiem niezależnych tancerzy i choreografów. Spotkanie moderowała Joanna Leśnierowska.

A meeting of the dance community with Maciej Siuda, architect and author of the Vistula Pavilion's functional and utility plan (PFU), was held at the WOK Lab space at ul. Marszałkowska 34/50 on 12 February. The plan’s development was preceded by workshops at the MSN (Museum of Contemporary Art) premises and study visits to the Pavillon ADC and Uferstudios and Radialsystem in Berlin).

Na zlecenie Warszawskiego Obserwatorium Kultury IPSOS przeprowadził badania na temat nowej instytucji – sceny tańca współczesnego. Raport dostarcza informacji na temat potrzeb środowiska i oczekiwań publiczności, a także zawiera rekomendacje dotyczące założeń programu pilotażowego nowej sceny tańca. Jest to część prowadzonego przez WOK wieloetapowego procesu wspierającego powstawanie tej placówki.

On Friday, 1 December 2023, an engaging workshop on architecture took place at the Museum of Modern Art at ul. Pańska 3. The session was led by Maciej Siuda, the mastermind behind the project to transform the Vistula River Pavilion into a dance centre. The event consisted of two modules: a presentation and a hands-on session. It successfully brought together a diverse group, including representatives from the theatre and dance communities specialising in directing, choreography, performance and architecture. Participants also included technical staff from Nowy Teatr and TR Warszawa and members of the Culture Office of the City of Warsaw.

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.

How is it possible that the capital of a Central European country with a population of almost 40 million does not yet have a venue dedicated to one of the most dynamically developing performing arts? - asks Joanna Leśnierowska in a conversation with Julia Hoczyk.

Elise Bernhardt led a workshop which launched a study aimed at facilitating the process of modelling a dance institution in Warsaw.

In October, the second workshop for the dance community took place at the Warsaw Observatory of Culture. This is the next stage of the work on modelling a new dance institution in Warsaw. The meeting was attended by representatives of dance organisations, the Culture Bureau of the City of Warsaw and WOK. The workshop was chaired by Joanna Leśnierowska.

At the Warsaw Observatory of Culture, in collaboration with the dance community, the Culture Bureau of the City of Warsaw, and the Museum of Modern Ar, we are developing a yearly pilot program at the Pavilion by the Vistula River. Our goal is to establish a dance institution in Warsaw.

We present a summary of the discussion Conversations on the performing arts ecosystem: Production House vs. Dance Stage, or How They Do It in Berlin... held on 26 April 2023 at the Komuna Warszawa theatre, with the participation of Joanna Szymajda (dance curator associated with the Art Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences), Urszula Kropiwiec (Deputy Director of Nowy Teatr in Warsaw), Wojtek Ziemilski (director), and Grzegorz Laszuk (co-founder of Komuna Warszawa). The discussion was moderated by Piotr Morawski. The Warsaw Observatory of Culture was a partner of the meeting.

At the Warsaw Observatory of Culture, we carefully monitor the contemporary artistic landscape and the mechanisms that condition it. We are interested in the changes that are currently taking place in this field.

The Warsaw Observatory of Culture was a partner of an international discussion panel during the 22nd edition of the Ciało/Umysł Festival. Our research interests are close to the topic of the state of the creative sector, taking into account the psychophysical well-being and working conditions of people working in the cultural sector, which, among other things, was the subject of the meeting on 7 October 2023.

At WOK, Marta Seredyńska is researching the working conditions of freelancers working in the field of contemporary and conceptual dance.

There are the conclusions of the discussion entitled Residencies and fellowships, or how to live on(off) the stage/Conversations about the performing arts ecosystem, held as part of a series of conversations on the performing arts system. The meeting took place on 23 June 2023, at Komuna Warszawa.