The International Festival of Performative Arts begins on 19 July in Płock. We spoke to Małgorzata Sady, the festival’s curator, who shared with us her thoughts and goals for the event, the highlights of the programme of which she is particularly proud and her plans for the future.
Zuzanna Auguścik: The International Festival of Performative Arts in Płock is going to be a multidimensional journey. Can you tell us more about its theme: “STORIES. THE WORLD IS MORE COMPLICATED THAN OUR TRUTHS ABOUT IT”. Why have you chosen this particular theme and how do you understand it?
Małgorzata Sady: The theme of the festival and this twelve month (April 2023 – March 2024) Polish-Norwegian adventure realised by the Mazovian Museum in Płock and the Kunstbanken Centre for Contemporary Art in Hamar has two parts. As you said the first being stories. Storytelling is fundamental to how we think and make meaning of the world. We all carry stories within ourselves and pass them to others. By telling stories we communicate with other people, express our thoughts, states of mind, bring back memories, create images of the world, ourselves, other people. Stories vary and the way they are told also varies. We like telling stories – sharing our real or imaginary world, and we also like listening to stories. We acquire knowledge through them, they entertain or sadden us, put us in a state of reverie (…). They have accompanied mankind since ancient times, we find traces of them in writings, paintings, sculptures, buildings which proves their significance (if it has to be proved).
Stories are an exceptionally broad concept, hence not limiting artists in what they intend to tell us, allowing them to spread their wings and enter regions of particular importance to them. We do not want to close and impose, but open all the doors through which we will enter their personal, important, beautiful, difficult worlds. This privilege will be offered to us by the invited artists.
The second part of the title is a quote from Stefan Themerson’s short story “WOOFF WOOFF, or Who Killed Richard Wagner?” We want to urge the audience and the artists to leave the one-sided view of the world, the established patterns, cliches and look at it from various points of view, offering a truly liberating practice. These days, when we experience so much absurd evil and injustice, the domination of poor instincts, we propose a turn to open, broad, untethered thinking.
Z.A: You have been promoting the work of Franciszka and Stefan Themerson since the 1990s, so choosing them as patrons of the festival must have been particularly meaningful to you. What are the inspirations and influences of the artists’ work on the aims and objectives of the festival and its programme?
M.S: I was privileged to be a friend of the Themersons for the last 10 years of their lives, hence my attitude towards them is charged personally. Getting to know them when I was a student was one of these wonderful gifts that life offered me. We became friends immediately and this relationship, which developed over the years was precious to me, but also to them (which I didn’t imagine admitting at first). When you meet somebody in your formative years and you resonate with this person, the influence is significant, and it never leaves you. Each visit at the Themersons’ flat (Franciszka’s studio and Stefan’s study) was unforgettable. We talked about art and life with no division between the two. There was no barrier of age, status or whatever else one can think about. They looked after me, my creative self but also physical being, so apart from the wisdom and experience they shared with me, apart from books and records, I was also getting things that were difficult to get in Poland in those days – oranges, tea, coffee or warm tights…When they left this world, both in 1988, I felt that the time has come to express my gratitude for them by offering to others what I learned from them. For quite a few reasons the Themersons’ oeuvre was rather unknown in Poland and knowing how significant, amazing and inspirational it was, the impulse to share it with others made me organise all the exhibitions, write about them, give talks in Poland and internationally (Japan, Israel, Australia, many European countries), translate Stefan’s writings (publishing some of them myself in my independent little press called not by accident “Gaberbocchus in Poland”), assisting in film productions, and work at the Themerson Archive in London. I was instrumental in initiating and bringing it from London to the National Library in Warsaw. Now I am finishing their biography.
Płock is also strongly connected to both of them. It is where Stefan was born, brought up (he then left it permanently to study in Warsaw). Franciszka’s mother left Płock when she was 18. In the 90s Płock started acknowledging their contribution to the development of world culture. The Themerson festival has been organised here for 15 years now (with my continuous contribution and support) by the Płock Culture Centre. In November 2021 the Themerson Gallery was launched (their first permanent exhibition) at the Mazovian Museum. When I suggested applying for Norwegian Funds to the director Leonard Sobieraj, one of the arguments presented was that it would promote the exhibition and introduce the Themersons to international artists and audiences.
Why the patronage of Franciszka and Stefan? They were uncompromising avant-garde artists whose oeuvre covered a wide spectrum of art, always searching for new, different ways of looking at and understanding the world, then conveying it in their art. It corresponds to the idea of the festival of ignoring or rejecting the division into categories, approaching art/world as one entity. Experiment and the freedom to experiment, unrestricted and free thinking is what the festival advocates. “The urge to create visions”, enjoyment of the unexpected, “praise of slovenliness” and a rich variety of approaches were other factors. Also, the festival’s international character constitutes a certain parallel, as the Themersons were people of the world, living in Poland, France and England, working in several countries and collaborating with international artists. I am convinced that Franciszka and Stefan would have enjoyed and supported our adventure being an extension and an inspiration drawn from their world.
The residencies are becoming increasingly popular due to the mobility at a scale previously unknown. It is difficult to provide a clear definition of what an artistic residency is, as there are so many types, from small-scale residencies organised by individuals, to residencies organised by respectable institutions. In the series “Art Residency”, we talk to artists, curators and representatives of international organisations on their experience, challenges and tips.
Z.A: The project is being jointly realised by the Mazovian Museum in Płock and the Kunstbanken Centre for Contemporary Art in Hamar, Norway. What are the main challenges and benefits of this cooperation on an international project? How are both institutions managing these challenges?
M.S.: These two institutions are very different. This whole adventure had its beginning at a certain conference in Bergen in which we both participated, the director of Kunstbanken, Ingrid Blekstad and myself. Then the idea of collaboration emerged and slowly became realistic. Originally I was to represent another institution, but when the plan failed the director of the Mazovian Museum who is open-minded and enjoys challenges, agreed to apply for Norwegian Funds.
So, on one hand, we have Kunstbanken, a relatively small but recognized Norwegian institution and on the other hand, a big renowned museum of over 200 years of history, several impressive premises, a unique collection of art nouveau and art deco, among others. The museum has never organized anything like that in the past so there is excitement mixed with anxiety. In our project there are events which happen both in Norway and Poland. A different version of this festival will happen in Hamar in October. Kunstbanken organises performance art festivals every other year, but the scale of it used to be quite different. It lasted for 2 days – one day addressing the general public, the second – schools. This year their festival will last 4 days and will be preceded by a 7-day workshop led by VestAndPage (a German-Italian duo of performers), just like it is happening now in Płock. The Hamar event is still on a smaller scale than the Płock one. It does not mean that it is less significant. We share the same 5 Polish artists and 5 Norwegian artists in Hamar and Płock. Ingrid who curates the festival in Hamar got attracted by some international artists included in our programme so invited them.
Our collaboration has been realised without any conflicts or problems, the atmosphere being friendly and supportive. Everything has been going well so far, despite the complexity of our collaboration, enjoyment and learning experience being its crucial ingredients.
Z.A: The festival engages artists in exploring and investigating themes related to storytelling and the complexity of the world. Could you tell us what, in your opinion, is the meaning and role of performing arts in today’s world? How does the festival try to reflect these evolving tendencies?
M.S: In spite of art being an object in the art market, which alas has been devouring the real artistic incentives and the message the artworks convey becoming reduced to commodities, it still maintains the power of translating the world for people (one of Stefan Themerson’s ideas). I have been witnessing the development of avant-garde/experimental art since I was a teenager. I remember when happenings evolved into performance art, a term then unknown in Poland (it is rather interesting how terminology changes over the years depending on external factors). Performing arts have been taking more and more space in the art world now. And what was almost a single, uniform body (also we should maybe define here what we mean by performing arts) as a concept, got diversified over time. Should we call it ‘live art’ for the sake of this conversation? If we agree to follow that line then we could say that the festival covers various areas of performing arts – performance art itself, music, sound, dance, puppet theatre, interactive events, and video documenting live acts, hence becoming a meeting place of various tendencies happening in the world of art nowadays. Our festival is truly international and even though we could find one common platform (let it be performing arts), they speak different languages, use different instruments to communicate their ideas, have individual ways of expression, represent different generations, which will let the audience appreciate the richness of this world and meditate on its condition today. Our festival offers space which allows new ideas to evolve, also by bringing artists working in different disciplines and representing different generations together, establishing friendships and possible collaborations in the future.
Z.A: During the festival we will see artists not only from Poland, but from all over the world. How was the curatorial process in creating the festival programme? What guided you in selecting the artists and their works? Is there any artistic work or event that you are particularly excited about?
M.S.: The 50 artists participating in the festival represent 17 countries, mostly European but also the USA and Canada. First, I came up with the theme and the next stage was drawing a map, marking respective territories. There were certain predetermined conditions – the participation of 5 Norwegian artists was suggested by Ingrid Blekstad, the director of Kunstbanken and curator of a performance art festival that takes place in Hamar. Predetermined conditions, but not limitations were part of the structure. I was taking into consideration a certain number of artists, then started contacting them. I was telling them about the concept of the festival and listened to their propositions. The blank spaces of the map were gradually filling up. Diverse approaches, diverse art practices, different fields of explorations, to offer variety, but at the same time maintain a certain consistency. The quality of the work was the major determining factor. As the Mazovian Museum offers a number of impressive venues and our budget was not too modest, I had a substantial amount of freedom to follow my vision.
There is also a group of artists selected through an open call, some of them truly experienced and renowned, some still students of art academies. We do not treat them as another category of participants, our principles are democratic, only the process of incorporating them into the festival programme was different.
There are many pieces I am looking forward to, actually all of them. To name a few: a concert in the cathedral by the Canadian composer and pianist John Kameel Farah, playing his compositions and pieces by Bach (organs and electronics), Marilyn Arsem’s “innehalten” (one to one performance), Laura Bartolomei’s puppet performance “Dorme”, Alastair MacLennan’s “In Still” actuation, Irena Wiszniewska’s interactive improvised event “Street Story Teller Makes Up Stories Especially”, (there are quite a few interactive events, also happening in public space), Dorothea Schürch’s “Audioscore”, Ewa Zarzycka’s “Spoken Performance”, Yaryna Shumska’s performance, VestAndPage “1 9 Monologue” , Weronika Lewandowska’s “Prompt” multimedia, spoken word poetry, Laurie Anderson’s (in absentia) “The Virtual Reality of Stories”, Nigel Rolfe’s “Hide in the Dark Corners”, Andrea Saemann and Chris Regn’s “The Narrative Variation of Lady Goddesses and Translocal Spirits”, Tanja Brueggemann’s premiere “Spiral Lamina” for piano, loudspeakers and voice (including my short poems recorded for her). I find it hard to mention some artists and neglect others as all of them deserve attention.
Each day will culminate with a ‘meet the artist’ session at the Art Deco patio where in an informal atmosphere there will be a chance to talk to everybody with subtle music in the background, food and drinks available, maybe some improvised actions will happen. Anything is possible. We have access to the museum premises until midnight for which we are truly grateful.
Z.A: Also, I wanted to ask about your plans. You enjoy a nomadic lifestyle, travelling and exploring. You’re in Płock now but maybe you already know what your next adventure will be? Will you share it with us?
There are quite a few adventures lined up within the next few months. Just to mention some of them: Together with Koji Kamoji and Mieczysław Wasilewski we are in the process of finalising the concept of our joined exhibition at the Gallery of Contemporary Sacral Art provisionally called “A Journey” which is dedicated to the memory of my late grandson Aaron Jan Łoś. It is planned to open at the end of November this year. For many years I have been involved in the coming into being of the film “Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hour-Glass” by the Quay Brothers, their opus magnum, full-length film featuring live action and animation. This film is reaching its final stage. I have been working with them on several films and we have a very intimate relationship, and at the last moment I managed to save their script. In December, Senegal will become my home. I was invited for an artistic residency in Saint-Louis. Writing poems and drawing is the concept for that month. But who knows what will happen there?
The translation of Poświatowska’s poems with Prof. George M. Hyde was one of the recent adventures which resulted in publishing a little book of poems by bookartbookshop run by Tanya Peixoto in London with a cover designed by the Quay Brothers, layout by the pataphysician Alastair Brotchie, kindly read by Emily Young, Laurie Anderson, Marc Ribot. Now I am in discussion with Smith College, where Poświatowska studied, about finding a publisher in the USA for a bigger collection and promoting her poetry there. Another job to be done is revising and finishing the biography of Franciszka and Stefan Themerson, which Iskry intends to publish. Lectures at the Polish-Japanese Academy in Warsaw form another chapter. Another book published by Gaberbocchus in Poland.
November opens the Multimedia Exhibition in Płock as part of the Polish-Norwegian adventure which features commissioned works by Leigh Singer, Victoria Davis, Grzegorz Rogala. As its curator, I still have quite a lot of work to do.
Some short trips to the UK, France, Holland, Spain, and Italy are coming in the next few months. I am always searching for new ideas, unique experiences.
