Aside from the Euro championship spring and summer 2012 in the Polish capital brings on a far-flung cultural event set on the banks of the Vistula, hosting new Polish and international musical acts, artists, designers and film screenings
The art-oriented segment of Miasto Cypel (Cape City) launches on the 26th of May with the Drawcore Poland performance. Artist Tedziu Kong Michałowski creates a large-format drawing while musician Król Jerzy Bzdurny plays the theremin, an early electronic musical instrument controlled without discernible physical interaction with the performer. The audience is invited to come close and engage with the artist as he exposes the technique of his artistic practice. The performance begins at 6:00 pm and repeats the following day (27th of May) at 3:00 pm. Throughout the day Warsaw DJs perform in the afternoon and into the evening.
On Saturday night the Wihajster Foundation, affiliated with the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, opens its temporary gallery with Piotr Welk and his Processing show. Using computer programmes to generate an image and project it with an adapted Xbox Kinect sets up a unique visual show where the audience can participate directly in the process of creating and projecting an image. Welk is fascinated by the logical and relatively simple language of such programmes that allow for the creation of such complex structures. As he explains, "The development of the process is controlled by the data sent to the computer. I can predict the general form of the image, yet the individual scenes and variants are a result of the interaction between the device with its environment". The image is a surprise and often one with surprising aesthetic qualities. The performance begins at 11:00 pm on the 26th of May.
Sunday afternoon is another full day of the Garage Love DJ performance by Hungry Hungry Models and other DJs, garage sales and the 5 Rhythm & Pompon performance by Joanna Hussakowska and Mike Polarny, which brings together music and dance with an interactive, energetic programme. Throughout the week Miasto Cypel hosts various chill out picnics, concerts, movie screenings and exhibitions. Fashion is also a major element of this initiative, with fashion brands like H&M and Poland's Koka setting up their own pop-up shops, screenings of films like Political Dress and Kate Moss. Creating an Icon.
The 2nd of June brings on a large-scale graffiti jam led by some of Europe's most innovative street artists, including Krema and Lublin Dejoe from Berlin. GGE:Forgot to Grow Up brings together street artists across generations to narrate a history of graffiti art in Warsaw.
Historically the area was a casual meeting places for Warsaw's youth in the '70s and '80s. A relatively untouched stretch of trees near the Vistula was charming enough for locals to call it by the fancier name of Maristo. The Miasto Cypel project aims to refresh the bankside area and inject life back into this forgotten bit of the city. According to the organisers, culture is the key to reviving Miasto Cypel and giving Warsaw a broad offer of cultural events in all sorts of guises throughout the summer.
Natalia Paszkowska from WWAA, the project’s architectural studio explains that
The project for us is above all an excellent opportunity to invite Warsaw’s residents to his unique place, making the discussion about the area’s future, ideas about its development giving it a broader and more involved character. We believe the Cape if wisely managed both in an urban-architectural sense and properly animated can become one of Warsaw’s main attractions, emphasising it’s unique nature - a green city by the river.
Miasto Cypel officially launched on the 11th of May, attracting over 4,000 people over the first weekend to its unique combination of culture, independent initiatives, fashion and commerce. Over the time of the Euro Championship Miasto Cypel will also host football-related events.
For more information and a full programme of events, see: www.miastocypel.eu
Editor: Sylwia Wojda
Source: Miasto Cypel