Agnieszka Gotowała is a multidisciplinary artist working within the visual and performance arts. In her work, she raises subjects related to the interdependence between a human and the environment, the dynamics of their interactions and perception in the context of the immensity of time and space. Gotowała collects experiences, which she later translates into her own language of visual art and performative media. During the residency at Kunstnarhuset Messen in Alvik, Norway, the artist will have an opportunity to continue her “Crystal Identity” project, which focuses on the exploration of a particular kind of relations between humans and nature, as well as between memory and identity inherent in them. It refers to symbiosis and autonomy within this dependency, to what extent, within the organic system of nature, the whole shapes its parts (including human beings), and to what extent it is the human who shapes the nature.
Weronika Surma is a PhD student in the Faculty of Ceramics at the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław. The places of her residency – Paphos and Kalavasos in Cyprus, due to their history and extensive collection of antique ceramics, will enable her to conduct research on ancient forms and techniques in the context of the figure and presence of women in ceramics. The residency is also connected with Surma’s doctoral thesis, which presents a historical outline of representation of women in ceramics, with particular emphasis on the history of vessels and women's figures. Apart from that, during the Experimental Archaeological Workshop on Ancient Ceramics in Kalavasos, Surma will have an opportunity to collaborate with Andreas Fasoulides – a renowned expert in the ancient art of ceramics. The artist will use the newly-acquired skills, creating a collection of ceramic objects on the spot.
Karolina Wycisk – a curator, project coordinator and reviewer – has planned a study visit in Mexico City during the International Contemporary Dance Festival. As part of it, she will work on strengthening Polish-American contacts on the world’s contemporary dance scene and, above all, promote Polish artists working with dance and choreography. The visit will be accompanied by a presentation of “Slowstepper”, a performance by a choreographer Hygin Delimat, also connected to Wrocław. The curator, co-responsible for the organisation of the Polish Dance Platform 2019, intends to focus on future cooperation between Polish and American institutions and initiatives, inviting American curators to visit Poland in 2019.
Małgorzata Maternik is an assistant at the Department of Interdisciplinary Activities in Ceramics at the Faculty of Ceramics and Glass, Art and Design Academy in Wrocław, run by professor Adam Abel. Residency at the Yanggu Porcelain Museum in South Korea will introduce her to the technique that she wishes to employ in her works referring to the Victorian times. Studying museum objects with cobalt ornaments, used by local ceramists from the 18th to the 20th century, will offer her an insight into one of the techniques widely disseminated in East Asia, which gave rise to European ceramic products (i.a. Dutch) in a similar style. At the Yanggu Porcelain Museum, Maternik will develop her skills and create ceramic works, and her residence is likely to end with an exhibition.
