Firlej - it is certainly a place on the map of Wrocław, which is immediately associated with all expressions of art and culture. This space, which is part of Strefa Kultury Wrocław (Culture Zone Wrocław) since 2023, boasts a rich archive of events such as concerts, workshops, performances and festivals. Since this year, we have been creating our common history, still supporting the alternative scene, local artists and theatres. It will certainly not be a boring time.
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The Firlej's mission was and is to create and discover modern trends in culture. The institution was open to its neighbours – children, teenagers, pensioners. The main value they were guided by in their activities on the stage and in the backyard, and which we will try to maintain, is honesty. The centre promoted openness of mind and readiness for change, both through concerts and international music projects, as well as the activities aimed at the development of the local community. It supported the bands and music projects driven by passion for music and discovering new sounds. The centre locally focused on promoting the attitude of sharing skills, knowledge and ideas. Meetings, exchanges and creative workshops were organised here for years.
Between the years 2009-2016, Firlej organised the Asymmetry Festival – a festival promoting the artists experimenting with rock, metal and electronic music. In 2018, the Centre ran the Polish Jazz 1918-2018 project, promoting Polish avant-garde jazz musicians in the Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary. In 2011 and 2012, the club organised the international festival UA/PL Alternative Music Meetings. The goal of the project was to create a platform for exchanging and presenting the music trends from Poland and Ukraine by organising a Polish music festival in Ukraine and presenting Ukrainian bands in Poland. In 2013, Firlej organised Art Meetings in Tallinn, Estonia, as well as in Lviv and Kiev, Ukraine, addressing independent artists, journalists, and cultural promoters from Poland, Ukraine and Estonia. The centre was involved in the development of international cultural cooperation in the region, connecting Western and Eastern Europe.
In the 2016/2017 season, Firlej entered a new phase of its activity by establishing Kawiarnia Sąsiedzka (Neighbourhood Cafe), a kind of umbrella of cultural and social initiatives carried out by the people from around the neighbourhood. Through their activities, they tried to understand and meet the needs of the local community. Workshops, exhibitions, games, meetings were organised in this tiny space, and outside there was a flea market, Dni Sąsiada (Neighbour's Days) and Pikniki Sąsiedzkie (Neighborhood Picnics). The institution has created its own „Liczy się pomysł” ("Idea Counts") subsidy programme addressed to active residents of the surrounding housing estates, being also part of the Narodowe Centrum Kultury (National Centre for Culture) programmme "Zaproś nas do siebie" ("Invite us to your place"). In 2019, it became the regional operator of the NCK's „Bardzo Młoda Kultura 2019-2012 - Dolnośląskie” ("Very Young Culture 2019-2012 - Lower Silesia") programme.
The "Firlej" Centre for Artistic Activities, as one of the first few cultural institutions, moved its operations to the Internet at the beginning of the pandemic. From 16 March to 28 June 2020, all workshops held at Kawiarnia Sąsiedzka went online, engaging the viewers in over 100 virtual meetings. On 17 March, the first virtual concert of Mikołaj Trzaska took place, which started the "Firlej online" series of concerts of Polish artists of the independent scene.
The opening of Firlej under the wings of Strefa Kultury Wrocław took place on 3 March 2023.