Memory of Water - artistic residency in Gdańsk, Poland, 3-8 June 2019

After a fantastic artistic adventure in Levadia, artists from 5 European countries will visit the post-shipyard area of historic Gdansk.

This is where the Solidarity movement was born: the movement which inspired democratic changes in Central and Eastern Europe. Today, the transformation of this area is contested and gives rise to the heated discussions. How do we balance the need of the city's modern development with the need to preserve its cultural heritage? How do we empower the citizens of Gdansk, Poland so that they have a say about the changes taking place in the post-shipyard area?

The artists: T.s. Beall (Scotland), Mary Conroy (Ireland), Jonas Myrstrand (Sweden), Siegfried Vynck (Belgium) and Iwona Zajac (Poland) will try to understand the significance of this place and feel its spirit by participating in meetings, workshops, discussions and shows organised by the host - Baltic Sea Cultural Center (River//Cities Platform member).

Research will focus on the historic and iconic post-shipyard areas, the so-called Young City, whose development is currently the subject of heated discussions. Gdańsk Shipyard, will become a space for their artistic explorations in October.

The organisers will emphasise the importance of the Shipyard in the history of Gdańsk and Poland, in shaping the largest socio-political movement in Europe: "Solidarity". The artists will learn about the role of the Solidarity movement in the democratic changes in this part of Europe during the 20th Century.

The artists will be introduced  to the iconic symbols of the Solidarity movement and remaining industrial architecture, they will be told the stories and showed examples in the built environment, which are hidden or have, unfortunately, disappeared as a result of the transformation of the post-shipyard area.

They will be presented the history of this place through the prism of individual human history. This wealth of tangible and intangible heritage means that "Gdańsk Shipyard" is not only an extremely important place on the map of our city, but also in our hearts. Subsequent plans for developing the post-shipyard areas arouse great emotions as well as great hopes.

Resident artists will get acquainted with the whole complex situation around the Shipyard, and the first stage of their stay in Gdańsk should enable them to do just that.

The programme of their stay, therefore, allows for joint research, walks, and participation in a workshop conducted by social geographer, from the University of Gdańsk, Klaudia Nowicka, entitled "Gdańsk Shipyard through mental maps".

The artists will visit the European Solidarity Centre (ECS), familiarising themselves with the collections there, as well as through conversations with ECS experts and listening to oral histories from former employees of the Shipyard. They will also watch the presentation entitled "Shipyard after hours - cultural life of the plant" prepared by culture animator Anna Miler.

Finally, the artists will take part in the Gdańsk CityLab - a discussion forum on the future transformation of the Shipyard area, taking place on 7 June in the Baltic Sea Cultural Centre. It will be an opportunity to meet various stakeholder representatives who are involved in the transformation of the post-industrial shipyard areas.

The Gdańsk artist in the project is Iwona Zając, thanks to whom,  the resident artists will gain a special insight into the Shipyard issues.

The artists' residency will coincide with the 30th anniversary celebrations of the first free elections in Poland. Visits to some events related to this topic are planned and hopefully the impressions artists will gain can become a unique source of inspiration for them.

At the end of the time spent in city of Gdansk, the artists will share their initial ideas for the projects they will implement during their second residency in October.

Coordinator of the Memory of Water project in Gdańsk, on behalf of NCK: Magdalena Zakrzewska-Duda, Poland.

The curator of artist residencies: Mary Conlon, Scotland.

The author of the concept of the artist residency programme  in Gdańsk: Agnieszka Wołodźko (Poland)

CityLab curator: Roman Sebastyanski (Poland)

Memory of Water is an artist- led project exploring post-industrial waterfront heritage in the context of urban planning and community development. For two years, participating partners from six countries will collaborate on twenty-three interrelated activities. This includes four City Labs, six international residencies and a documentary film.

Follow Memory of Water EU on their website and FB page.

Project Partners:
Intercult, Sweden
City of Ostend, Belgium
Municipality of Levadia, Greece
Baltic Sea Cultural Centre, Poland
Fablevision, Scotland
Ormston House, Ireland