Can a housing estate become a year-round health resort for its residents? Such was the question posed by Zuzanna Mielczarek and Mateusz Włodarek, curators of the 15th edition of the NARRACJE Festival. This contemporary art festival, which each year is held in a different district of Gdańsk, will take place in the picturesque Niedźwiednik estate. It is the location, as well as the architecture and history of the estate, that led the curators to view Niedźwiednik as a health resort.
We only visit holiday or health resorts occasionally – but what if a housing estate became our everyday resort? During this year’s NARRACJE Festival, the invited artists will reinterpret the function of a resort within a housing estate. They will accompany residents and other participants on a hike, during which they will discover the local stories, architectural strategy and natural potential of this estate stretching across the moraine hills and surrounded by the Tricity Landscape Park. Due to its natural context and beneficial microclimate, the area was considered suitable for rest and leisure even before the current development was made. The estate was designed by Szczepan Baum and Danuta Dzierżakowska in the 1970s, in collaboration with other architects such as Andrzej Kwieciński. The architects appreciated the natural and scenic value of the area and included various recreational sites in their plans. They also took care of diversifying the housing development and integrating it into the surrounding landscape. The blocks of varying heights and the zig-zag terrace houses engage in an interesting dialogue with the estate’s mountainous terrain.
Among the moraine hills
The plan and architecture of Niedźwiednik respect its hilly terrain and are an expression of man’s humility towards nature. The architect Szczepan Baum lived on the top floor of one of the blocks he planned, so he could admire not only his own work, but also atmospheric phenomena. What remained from these observations is a series of his photo albums with pictures of the sky taken at different times of the day and year. Jan Domicz used the view from this apartment’s window in his work Album, Sunrises. The LED screen displaying his video faces the windows of the apartments on the lowest floors of the block, showing them the view that the residents of the upper floors are privileged to see every day.
The location of the estate also has its consequences. It was impossible to avoid numerous stairways. They were initially designed to follow curves, which would make them longer, but eventually many of them were not built according to these plans. The Góralska Street stairway, which was included in the Stairway Monument by Zuzanna Skurka, was not featured in the original plan. The stairs are steep and long: they have 148 steps and a 20-metre ascent over a distance of 100 metres. They have been out of service for a long time due to various damages and no longer serve as a functional part of the estate. Nevertheless, the residents still walk the route established by the stairs, treading their own meandering path. On the occasion of the festival, the path was cleared and the cavities in the steps were filled with a mixture of concrete fragments found nearby and a natural binder. The new path meanders gently within the former stairway, emphasising the discrepancy between the original project of the estate and some of the implemented solutions. Krystyna Jędrzejewska-Szymek and Kasper Jakubowski were also inspired by the trodden footpaths. However, their work Footpaths references the paths trodden mainly by animals. They mapped and then transferred them onto an installation consisting of photographs, videos, maps, and light.
The mountainous terrain is the result of glacial action. Stach Szumski’s Rolling Ground Moraine mural is an attempt to depict the processes of Baltic glaciation. The artist incorporated natural imperfections, such as damp patches, plaster cavities, and even graffiti, all found on the facade of a school in Niedźwiednik, and transformed them into elements of his artwork. The natural resources found in Niedźwiednik – brown coal, sand, clay, and erratic granites – became the inspiration for the mural’s colour palette. Another relic of the glacier are the erratics which resemble tourists or pilgrims who have come a long way to eventually settle in this region. Katarzyna Przezwańska is interested in the way humans interact with nature – in this case with minerals. Her Tourists are personified stones with eyes and lips made from agates and quartz. They seem to observe passers-by and exchange knowledge of their secrets, now forever enchanted in stone.
Responsibility for nature
Niedźwiednik is surrounded by the landscape park and there are also many green areas within the estate itself, which are inhabited and visited by various animals. Dominika Olszowy was moved by last year’s killing of a family of eight wild boars by a hunter. It is quite easy to come across these animals on the estate, as they visit Niedźwiednik almost every day. Although they cause problems by digging up gardens and urban greenery and rummaging through trash cans in search of food, they are also gentle and harmless animals. In her sculpture Wild Boar, the artist referred to the rooting of boars and created the monument from concrete casts made in the rooted ground. Other animals common in the area are frogs living in the Niedźwiednik pond, to which Tosia Kiliś paid homage in her fountain Frog. Hydrology was also referenced by the Hydroza collective and their performance Embrace Water. The plush waterdrop is inspired by the mascots of animals and other characters with whom one can take photos at resorts. In this case, however, it is not a cheerful element of the typical resort landscape, but rather a figuration of the concept of hydrocommunity. The sad Waterdrop is supposed to bring attention to the damage inflicted on the hydrosystems of our planet. The mascot’s costume was sewn from second-hand textiles, highlighting our collective responsibility for water resources. Another artwork referring to water is Anna Sztwiertnia’s Water Pumping Station inspired by the pumping station located within the estate. The original name (hydrofornia comes from the Greek words hydor, meaning “water,” and phoros – “carrying”) and the form of this work are a reference to the mechanism used to maintain constant pressure of the tap water. The shape of the installation alludes to the medical equipment of sanatoriums thus highlighting the healing properties of water. Cieplice (2018), the second work by this author, refers to the swimming pool included in the initial plans for the estate. Presented in the context of Niedźwiednik, this artwork is a reminder of the ideas that motivated the creators to establish a space which could enable rest and leisure and encourage a healthy and active lifestyle.
Traces of history
Among the residential buildings of the estate was formerly a Jaszczurówka guesthouse, named after its owners’ surname. The guesthouse operated until 2018 and currently its rooms are rented by the District Council, the “Bez Atu” Bridge Club and the Brętowo Senior Citizens’ Club. Dominika Święcicka explores the space of this facility, which once served a touristic purpose and now is used by the local community. In her work Jaszczurówka Inn, the artist employed artefacts found in the building and complemented them with new objects and atmospheric lighting. The story of the inn is like a “frozen image,” a moment when rest, relaxation and homely atmosphere are preserved, but also transformed through the new functions of the building. Together with the local bridge club, the artist will host a bridge tournament. Such an action emphasises that, although the guesthouse no longer serves its original purpose, it still remains alive as a space for meetings and collaboration.
Not only the function, but also the appearance of the buildings has changed. As a result of thermo-modernization, one of the building’s decorations depicting the Plough asterism was removed. Kacper Tomaszewski created Ursa major, an installation alluding to the former decoration. It is a “park of stars” with which one can interact and which changes its appearance depending on the viewer’s position. Some of the stars are moveable, rotating when touched or moved by the wind. The elements cast a shadow on the wall where the original decoration was placed.
Collective Memory by Julia Taszycka is an installation consisting of elements found around the estate. Each of these objects is a part of history. Taszycka’s work evokes collective ideas of the past. The abandoned objects are given a new role, reminding us of the past decades and daily habits of the residents.
Experience with all senses
The artworks displayed during the festival will allow the participants to experience the space with different senses. You can warm yourself next to Zuza Golińska’s Smokes located at the top of the hill. The installation alludes to the industrial past of the area. In the 1920s, brown coal was extracted from an opencast pit located near today’s Góralska Street and within the Węglisko area, named after this industrial legacy (węgiel means “coal” in Polish). Smoke Room by Kaja Domińska and Wojciech Gawroński invites you to bathe in smoke. Inspired by the early Iron Age tradition, the artists created face urns to burn incense made from the Niedźwiednik plants. Bartosz Kruczyński and Piotr Kowalski took care of the festival’s soundtrack. Background Radio is a sound backdrop intended to put you in a relaxing and calming mood. The radio sets playing soothing sounds created by Piotr Kowalski are an integral part of this work. The metalwork forms are inspired by the architectural landscape of Niedźwiednik.
The participants will also have the chance to “taste” Niedźwiednik. During the festival, local restaurants will be serving a special menu based on seasonal produce: pumpkin, mushrooms, and spices created by Tomek Pawłowski-Jarmołajew.
Melanie Urban’s Pleasuredome of a Fried Cod is a clear reference to the contemporary concepts of self-care. This healer, spiritual guide and TikTok self-help guru is coming to Niedźwiednik, and she invites you to a meditation inspired by the breathing exercises of mountain spa traditions. Urban had a close look at the local discussion forums, neighbour groups, Google reviews, noticeboards and signboards. Based on these sources, she composed manifestations and affirmations collected from social media and displayed them on banners and lightboxes. Some of them include “forget about the others,” “focus on yourself,” “achieve your goals,” “reach the mountain tops,” “do something for yourself.”
You can make it all happen if you embark on a two-day journey across Niedźwiednik, where you can nurture and rediscover both yourself and the estate.
This article was sponsored by Instytut Kultury Miejskiej in Gdańsk.
