Klopsztanga logo
A unique new project dedicated to promoting Polish culture across Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia draws its inspiration from a typical object with a not-so-typical cultural significance
The Klopsztanga. Polska bez granic / Polen grenzenlos (Poland without Borders) project kicks off in Schauspiel Köln on the 15th of April 2012. Over the next few months the programme of events introduces German audiences to the freshest and most significant aspects of Polish art, film, music and literature.
The name of the project draws its inspiration from the word klopsztanga (trzepak in Polish), which stands for a hanging frame used for beating rugs in Silesian dialect, considered by some a distinct language, which is spoken in the south-western areas of Poland. The word is related to the German word Klopfstange, thereby linking the two neighbouring nations through language. In Poland the hanging frame holds a particular significance for cultural life, being for many decades, the object that focused the social life of communities, a special place which attracted groups of people who played games and ideas. It remains a symbol of meeting and interaction, particularly for the tough times of communism, where everything was lacking - including suitable meeting places. The klopsztanga (hanging frame) has become a symbol of an ongoing dialogue between artists, institutions, and social organizations from Poland and Nordrhein-Westfallen. The region is one of the most important in Germany and boasts the largest industry of the nation.
Klopsztanga's symbolic potential was devised by Paweł Potoroczyn, the director of Adam Mickiewicz Institute, together with vice director Joanna Kiliszek. The project and its cultural significance was presented at the inauguration ceremony on the 4th of April in Warsaw at the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. There Potoroczyn suggested that the hanging frame used to function as a cultural spot connecting people both in Polish and German courtyards. He went on to compare the function of the klopsztanga with networking and facebook today. They serve the same purpose: concentrating different energies. For Potoroczyn klopsztanga is also an apt symbol for Polish-German relations.
The project includes over 70 cultural events spanning all fields of culture and ending in December 2012. Klopsztanga is a the flip side of last year's successful Tam'Tam. German Cultural Season in Poland, which presented cultural projects from the region in 13 Polish cities.
The programme kicks off in Warsaw on the 15th of April 15 at the Schauspiel theatre in Koeln. The Fest mit Polen project presents exhibitions of works by significant artists from Poland and treating Polish issues, such as Mirosław Bałka, Yael Bartana, Cezary Bodzianowski, Katarzyna Kozyra and Dominik Lejman. Also on show will be the photographic works of Andrzej Tobis, Piotr Wójcik and Arkadiusz Gola. The concert programme includes performances by Polish artists, including Macio Moretti, Julia Marcel and the Maciej Obara Quartet.
Polish cinema is also in the spotlight, with a traveling repertoire of films titled Polnischer Film on Tour, featuring such films Ki, directed by Leszek Dawid, Suicide Room, directed by Jan Komasa, A Piece of Summer, directed by Marta Minorowicz and Świteź, directed by Kamil Polak.
The youngest generation of Polish visual artists will be featured at Coming Soon, on show at the Temporary Gallery in Koeln from 16th to 26th of April. The show will sum up Polish contemporary art scene. Seasoned artists include Artur Żmijewski, whose Democracies exhibition is on show at Hartware MedienKunstVerein in Dortmund between 21st of April - 22nd of July, featuring video reportages from political demos, funerals, street riots and factory strikes made in Europe, Israel and The West Bank.
Pamięć pracy / Laboured Memory is an ongoing project that will culminate in an installation made of carbon and steel - natural materials associated with Nordrhein. The project realized by Polish and German artists is scheduled to show at Weltkulturerbe Zollverein in Essen from 16th of May to 30th of June.
Polish writers visiting North Rhine-Westphalia include Andrzej Stasiuk, Adam Wiedemann, Dariusz Sośnicki and Julia Fiedorczuk. They are guests of the Wege durch das Land Festival. Also the poetry of Nobel laureatre Wisława Szymborska, who recently passed away, will be interpreted by German actress Rosemarie Fendel. The young generation of writers is represented by Joanna Bator, Sylwia Chutnik and Włodzimierz Nowak, who are taking part in the Spring edition of "LesArt" festival dedicated entirely to Polish literature (26th of April - 24th of May) in Dortmund. Crime fiction authors like Marek Krajewski, Izabela Szolc and Bartłomiej Rychter are also guests of Europe's biggest international Crime Books Festival Mord am Hellweg, which takes place in numerous cities and towns of the whole region.
The Klopsztanga cultural programme has been prepared by Adam Mickiewicz Institute and Polish Cultural Institute in Dusseldorf, realised in cities across the region between April and the end of December 2012.
For more info, see www.klopsztanga.de