Masters, Usurpers and Refugees... That’s the leading motif of this year’s Open Eyes Art Festival – a cycle of artistic events accompanying the prestigious Open Eyes Economy Summit. The international congress comes to Kraków for the seventh time, bringing together representatives of scientific, economic, cultural and political circles. The summit is dedicated to the economy rooted in social values, and it features myriad accompanying cultural events.
The Open Eyes Art Festival was founded in 2021 as a natural successor to the Open Eyes Festival. One of its fundamental assumptions is diversity and interdisciplinarity including all artistic genres, from painting, sculpture, dance, theatre, film, photography and filmmaking to music from pop to classical. The organisers (the Economic and Public Administration Foundation, Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, Nowa Huta Cultural Centre and GAP Arts Agency) are committed to the idea of collaboration, and the programme is developed together with numerous cultural institutions in Kraków. The events – held throughout the month preceding the conference – frequently take place in the city space, in locations with no obvious links with culture or the arts.
This year’s motif “Masters, Usurpers and Refugees” is taken with a pinch of salt, ostensibly dividing artists into specific categories. “We do not assign value to different attitudes – they play out in different spheres and sometimes come together in a single individual. They are all equally important. The festival programme presents artists side by side to give them an opportunity for dialogue and mutual inspiration rather than confrontation. We want to showcase a wide spectrum of artists, genres and artistic means,” the organisers stress.
The Open Eyes Art Festival starts on 22 October at the 19th-century Ogiński and Potulicki Palace at 4 Piłsudskiego Street in Kraków with vernissages of three exhibitions. Open Art features presentations of projects by students working in teams bringing together different faculties and universities. The exhibition is curated by Kolektyw Rzeczy – a collective of students from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków organising presentations by young artists. The exhibition Outside Perspective examines works by lecturers at the academy; the curator Delfina Jałowik has selected almost a hundred artworks created using myriad techniques. The exhibition titled Decade is a review of artworks by graduates from the Academy of Fine Arts and their achievements on the art and design markets.
The programme also includes an exhibition of works by Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, Poland’s representative at the Biennale Arte in Venice in 2022, a presentation of artworks by the acclaimed Ukrainian artist Sergei Chaika, the Open Screen film festival and an art fair.The festival closes during the Open Eyes Economy Summit (22 and 23 November at the ICE Kraków Congress Centre) and a concert of songs of Tadeusz Różewicz’s poems and a photography exhibition dedicated to the artist. The stage of ICE Kraków welcomes representatives of many generations and genres, bringing their own fresh interpretations: Warsaw Village Band,, Pablopavo i Ludziki, Kirszenbaum, Morświn, Imiela & Suchar and Karolina Cicha. (Dorota Dziunikowska)
The text was published in the 3/2022 issue of the “Kraków Culture” quarterly.
