German arts and culture come alive across Poland as part of the Tam'Tam initiative - bringing the European nations closer together through performance, music and painting
An exhibition by Wolfgang Tillmans at Warsaw's Zachęta National Gallery of Art (18 November), group performances by Pina Bausch at the National Theatre in Warsaw (16-21 September), an exhibition of forbidden art of the Third Reich in Kraków (from 18 October) and a 24-hour jazz marathon in Wrocław (26 November) are just a few of the over-twenty special events part of the Polish Culture Season in North Rhine-Westphalia. The national government in Düsseldorf has earmarked nearly €1.2 million ($1.66 million) for the project.
Best known for its industry and football clubs, in 2010 North Rhine-Westphalia – when the Ruhr region was elected the European Capital of Culture – proved to be a state with great creative potential. The events of the Tam'Tam Culture Season take place in several Polish cities to look at the NRW as a melting pot of contemporary music, visual arts, dance and other cultural fields. The cities of Dusseldorf, Cologne, Wuppertal and Essen are cradles of art projects.
The Culture Season was created by a transnational cooperation lasting two years. The result of this short, intensive and multifaceted cooperation is a unique overview of the most interesting phenomena of contemporary culture in the German region.
Events are held simultaneously in various locations throughout Poland. In Warsaw, the 3D film "Pina" by Wim Wenders is being screened (18 September). Stary Browar in Poznań hosts a month-long (1-29 October) series of performances by Tanzhaus NRW, one of the world's leading dance theaters. "Current thinking and a river of books" is a literary journey along the Oder River (1-4 October) – meetings with prominent authors from Germany, Poland and the Netherlands.
Tam'Tam also works hand in hand with many existing Polish festivals. During the Warsaw Autumn Festival, German band musikFabrik plays music by renowned Westphalia composer Karlheinz Stockhausen (22 September). A review of Rhine theaters is held on 10-12 October at the Theatrical Reminiscences in Kraków. Among the plays being staged is "America" by Franz Kafka, prepared by Jan Klata for the Schauspielhaus Bochum.
The German Culture Season in Poland Tam'Tam lasts through the end of January 2012. But this is by no means the end of the programme. Next year Polish artists and institutions will have the opportunity to present the country's cultural heritage in North Rhine-Westphalia.
For more information and a full programme see (in Polish and German): www.sezon-kultury-tamtam.pl, or like the event's Facebook page: www.facebook.com/SezonKulturyTamTam.
Source: www.sezon-kultury-tamtam.pl