The exhibitions present film projects which tell a story about Poland and the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the first free elections in the post-war history of the country. Created in 2011, the Google Cultural Institute is already working with more than 400 cultural institutions from more than 50 countries. Along with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the National Film Archive and National Audiovisual Institute have contributed their films.
"We are proud that the Adam Mickiewicz Institute will join the ranks of cultural institutions which cooperate with the Google Cultural Institute. The Culture.pl gallery is situated next to the world's top galleries - like MOMA, the British Museum and Musee d'Orsay. Presenting the achievements of the Institute, we will inaugurate the Culture.pl gallery with documentary films to celebrate this year’s unique Polish anniversaries. 'Art of Freedom' and 'Solidarity Shorts' perfectly represent virtues important to Poles, like courage, determination, entrepreneurship and solidarity "- says Paweł Potoroczyn, director of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
Enjoy the Culture.pl exhibition here
The Art of Freedom exhibition presents one of the most awarded films of recent years. It introduces profiles of the biggest Polish climbers - Jerzy Kukuczka, Wanda Rutkiewicz, Krzysztof Wielicki and Andrzej Zawada. In the 70s and 80s, the climax of real socialism, Polish climbers proved that the desire for freedom, courage and entrepreneurship helps overcome any limitations. The film, directed by Wojciech Słota and Marek Kłosowicz, is a part of the "Guide to the Poles" series produced by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. Other parts of the guide will be available in the Culture.pl gallery in the coming months. Along with the full version of the “Art of Freedom” film, the gallery dedicated to Polish climbers achievements will be complemented by an interview with Marek Kłosowicz and a series of archival photographs of mountain expeditions.
The second Culture.pl gallery contains nine short documentaries featured in the first edition of Solidarity Shorts - an international competition organized by the Lech Walesa Institute, whose partner is the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. Short vignettes tell what is hidden in today’s idea of solidarity, and how it is understood by young filmmakers from, Ukraine, Cuba, Burma, and Venezuela, amongst others. Here are their titles and message:
1. A World of Inclusion (Venezuela, Rafael David Álvarez Bermúdez) – A world in which
everyone takes part, without exception.
2. Black Chocolate (Romania, Cătălin Mircea Palavescu) – Skin colour and origin cannot
determine how others perceive us.
3. I don’t speak Russian (Russia, Yana Latypova) – In difficult conditions, even language barriers stop being an obstacle to communication.
4. Let’s equally share our poverty (Ukraine, Navat Gasanova) – Loneliness in poverty is difficult, it is worth finding company.
5. Life (Armenia, Armine Tovmasyan/ Lucine Nazarian) – Sometimes, looking at others, we can see ourselves.
6. Light Following (Ukraine, Kateryna Gornostai) – The light which hope follows.
7. Monks (Burma, Min Min Hein) – For a Buddhist monk, everyone is the same.
8. Rebelión de Crayones (Cuba, David Escolona Carillo) – Many are needed to drown out the
noise of tyranny.
9. Smile: a Symbol of Solidarity (Burma, Zin Moe Win) – A smile is the key to understanding.
The Google Cultural Institute is a global platform which was founded in 2011. The main GCI goal is to share resources of important cultural and historical value, making them accessible to all Internet users worldwide. With modern tools, the Google Cultural Institute preserves the most important works of art and archival documents for future generations.
The Google Cultural Institute is already working with more than 400 cultural institutions from more than 50 countries. In addition to the four Polish exhibitions, Internet users can watch the historical exhibition created by the Museum of the Polish History about the Solidarity and events initiated by the Polish transformation in Central and Eastern Europe, and three about the Holocaust, co-created with the National Museum of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Other important Google Cultural Institute projects were the digitization of the biblical Dead Sea Scrolls and the creation of a digital library containing a collection of about five thousand manuscript fragments in unprecedented quality. Another GCI initiative was the launch of the Nelson Mandela digital archive, a widely available Internet service with thousands of historical documents, pictures and videos from the life of the charismatic politician.
The Google Cultural Institute also operates Art Project, which aims to present a collection of masterpieces and museum objects online. Thanks to this, Internet users around the world can view collections from more than 300 Google Art Project partner institutions from more than 50 countries around the world, featuring New York's MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Musée d'Orsay in Paris, the Islamic Art Museum in Qatar and the National Modern Art Gallery in Delhi, as well as selected exhibits from the Art Museum in Łódź and the Wilanów Palace Museum in Warsaw.
Translated: Katarzyna Maksimiuk, 4.04.2014