One of Wisława Szymborska's "Wyklejanki" collages
For three weeks, the Italian capital hosts a wide variety of events presenting Polish art, film, theatre, poetry and jazz. The 11th edition of the festival takes it outdoors...
The Polish Institue in Rome, organiser of the annual festival, chose to present both a historic and a contemporary face of Poland this year. Corso Polonia opens with a screening of Warszawa 1935. The 3-D animated film brings the Polish capital back to its pre-Second World War splendour. The 20-minute digitally reconstructed production rebuilds streets and buildings destroyed during the war. Created by the special-effects studio Newborn based in Warsaw, the production required some four years to complete. Following the screening is a talk with its directors, Ernest Rogalski and Tomasz Gomoła.
The programme also presents a recent project by the young artist Natalia Brandt (born 1983). Brandt, who draws on current socio-political dialogue within artistic heritage, has created a piece, Late Conversations with Kart Schwitters, in which she talks about the incongruity of different languages, focusing on the inadequacy of human perception with respect to the language of art.
The festival is also filled with surprises, as Polish culture pops up in unobvious places and various corners of Rome. The park surrounding Villa Borghese is to host film screenings and an open-air jazz concert, with the Maleńczuk Tuta Rutkowski Super Trio playing live to the 1927 film by Henryk Szaro Mocny człowiek / A Strong Man. A special Corso Bambini programme for kids also takes place in the park and celebrates the Year of Julian Tuwim, with readings of Tuwim's children's rhymes and an illustration workshop conducted by Anita Piłat.
Another open-air event is to take place along the Tiber River, below the Blumenstihl Palace. Wianki (wreaths in Polish) are to acquaint Romans with the the magic of the St. John's Eve tradition, whose customs are pursued to the rhythms of world music performed by Joanna Słowińska & AKT.
The Renaissance St. Peter’s Square becomes a stage for Carmen Funebre by Teatr Biuro Podróży from Poznań. Inspired by escalating ethnic conflicts and the outbreak of war in Bosnia, the piece employs bold visual metaphors illustrating the fate of displaced peoples.
The gallery of Istitutto Polacca di Roma also presents photographs by the acclaimed Lorenzo Castore as part of the festival. Images presented at the Institute were taken by the photographer throughout his travels to Poland between 1999 and 2013.
The European Library in Rome hosts the premiere exhibition of imaginative Wyklejanki / Collages created by Wisława Szymborska, and also presents the Foundation created in the late poet’s name and the recently established Wisława Szymborska Award.
For programme details of Corso Polonia 2013, see: www.istitutopolacco.it
Editor: Paulina Schlosser, source: press release, 7.06.2013