Our activities
Even a cursory analysis of the archive of workshops* conducted as part of the project shows that they are conceived and designed primarily to teach participants how to engage in dialogue with art.
The ability to initiate a conversation with an artwork, an artist’s or curator’s concept, and to ask questions about an exhibition is fundamental to any constructive discussion of art (not only contemporary art). Without these skills, such a discussion is virtually impossible.
For many members of Polish society, entering a gallery such as Arsenał, which focuses on presenting and interpreting art created in recent years, remains a challenging experience. This is evidenced not only by attacks on galleries, artists and contemporary art, particularly those forms of artistic practice for which realism and aesthetics understood in terms of traditionally interpreted beauty are not primary principles. It is also reflected in the comments frequently made when encountering artworks in various contexts, dismissing installations, performances or video works with the words “I don’t understand.” Such responses are the most common indication of a sense of disorientation in the world of contemporary art. One of its underlying causes is the marginalisation of visual arts, art history and art criticism in school curricula.
Through a coherent and carefully conceived educational project, the Gallery helps to bridge this gap and reaches out to audiences of all ages: adults interested in various forms of visual culture, as well as the youngest visitors, who come to the Gallery for workshops accompanied by their parents. The latter are no less important a target audience for Arsenał’s activities.
Excerpt from Izabela Kopania’s text “Plac sztuki, plac zabaw” [A Square for Art, a Playground], 2012
Awards and distinctions received by Plac Zabaw Arsenał
- Gwarancje Kultury, 2010: Plac Zabaw Arsenał was nominated for the 2010 Gwarancje Kultury award, presented by TVP KULTURA. Magdalena Godlewska and Iza Tarasewicz received the distinction jointly for the year-long workshop series Co nas dzieli to nas łączy [What Divides Us Brings Us Together], which brought together Chechen, Georgian and Polish children.
- “Tutaj wpada dziecinada” [Where Kids Come to Play]: In 2009, the Arsenal Gallery was nominated in a competition recognising child- and parent-friendly places, organised by the NGO Support Centre in Białystok and Gazeta Wyborcza Białystok. The nomination recognised the Gallery’s children’s workshops and the creation of a space for play.
Plac Zabaw publications
- Czy sztuka jest potrzebna i dlaczego? [Is Art Necessary, and Why?]
- Negocjacje [Negotiations]
- Leć się bawić! Zgłębiaj sztukę! Kolekcja II [Go Play! Explore Art! Collection II] — available under a Creative Commons licence
- Nowe Legendy Podlasia [New Legends of Podlasie]
ZAPLANUJ WIZYTĘ
Wystawy są czynne od wtorku
do niedzieli w godzinach
10:00-18:00
Ostatnie wejście
na wystawy o godz.:
17.30