15th edition of SURVIVAL Art Review

The SURVIVAL Art Review – one of the largest reviews of art in public space in Poland – was held in Wrocław for the 15^th time. 

The 15th edition of the SURVIVAL Art Review was held in the modernist building of the Auditorium of the Faculty of Chemistry of Wrocław University, which was designed by Krystyna and Marian Barski in 1964 and has been out of use for many years now.

The motto of the 15th edition of the Review was “Stratification.” In art history, this term is applied to the analysis of the structure of a given architectural object by breaking it down into strata. During the jubilee edition of SURVIVAL, this term will be borrowed in order to conduct a study of the symbolic “stratification of the city” with reference to not only architecture, but also in the context of social and economic transformations.

After all, the history of Wrocław’s expansion is not an easy one. By tracing examples of changes that have taken place in the city we can witness not only its development and growth, but also its destruction, disintegration and collapse.
Among the essential aspects of the idea of SURVIVAL 15 are the notions of tectonics and atectonics, which in regard to works of art (or architecture) pertain to the congruity and uniformity of a construction, or their absence. These terms are crucial in the context of the venue: the Chemistry Auditorium, which retains its original state with hardly any alterations (from the body of the building to the smallest details: chairs, desks, lighting, etc.), and its twin Mathematics Auditorium, which has lost its architectural and artistic cohesion due to a renovation.
The very notion of “strata” can be interpreted by means of art on many levels, especially with regard to social issues, in the context of migration (mixing and overlapping of identities), as a process of identity building (including national identity), or in combination with purely formal artistic notions.
Among other threads that were relevant to the idea of SURVIVAL 15 are those connected with modernism itself as well as with chemistry and chemical reactions, in the context of the connections between science and art, and with reference to interpersonal relationships.

The exhibition featured over 40 different art projects: objects, sound installations, performances and video projections. This year’s edition of SURVIVAL will also provide an opportunity to remember Roman Pawelski, an artist who designed Atom – a sculpture in front of the auditorium, which is known to all inhabitants of Wrocław.
As always, the programme also included debates, workshops and film screenings.

The actions carried out as part of Sound Art Forum focused on the connections between sound and architecture. Taking into account the fact that the lecture rooms of the Auditorium have retained the original acoustic features, the programme will include performances drawing on these unique properties. There was also be a series of lectures and sound walks devoted to the individual sonic aspects of Wrocław’s architecture.

Of particular importance for the 15th edition of SURVIVAL was the project Chemistry Is Here, curated by Jednostka Architektury (and SARP Wrocław), a foundation popularising architecture. Itwas based on a series of actions intended to restore the former splendour of the auditorium. The audience could support it by making donations to carry out the individual actions (such as restoring the original illumination of the auditorium ceiling or recreating flowerbeds).

ARTISTS:
Monika Aleksandrowicz / Karolina Balcer / Maciej Bączyk / Agata Ciastoń i Paweł Bąkowski / Maks Cieślak / Róża Duda, Michał Soja / Krzysztof Furtas / Michał Gdak / Centrala Group (Simone De Iacobis, Małgorzata Kuciewicz + Aleksandra Kędziorek) / ETC Group / Silesium Group (Maciej Albrzykowski, Grażyna Jaskierska-Albrzykowska, Anna Kołodziejczyk, Anna Kowalska-Szewczyk, Kamil Moskowczenko) / Łukasz Huculak / Joanna Janiak / Anastazja Jarodzka, Patrycja Sap / Jednostka Architektury (Patryk Kusz, Marta Mnich, Mikołaj Smoleński) / Paweł Karpiński / Małgorzata Kazimierczak / Monika Konieczna / Kasper Lecnim / Grzegorz Łoznikow / Agnieszka Mastalerz / Iwona Ogrodzka / Dominika Oleś, Jędrzej Borowski / Łukasz Paluch / Alicja Patanowska, Beniamin Głuszek / Łukasz Patelczyk / Roman Pawelski / Pracownia Badań Pejzażu Dźwiękowego UWr / Kasia Proniewska-Mazurek / Paweł Romańczuk, Małe Instrumenty Samoróbka / Tomasz Skórka / Aleksandra Sojak-Borodo / Grzegorz Stefański / Tytus Szabelski / Michał Szota / Karolina Szymanowska / Sabina Wacławczyk / Marek Wagner / Maja Wolińska / Marcelo Zammenhoff / Ewa Zwarycz

23.06. 2017, FRIDAY
7 PM-12 midnight
exhibition
7 PM-…
festival club

7 PM
Opening of SURVIVAL 15 Art Review

8 PM
performance: 1-butterfly-2-phenylethan-1-anima / Monika Konieczna / auditorium hall

8.30 PM
performance: Chlorophyll Pump / Joanna Janiak / large auditorium room

24.06.2017, SATURDAY
11 AM‒12 midnight
exhibition
7 PM-…
festival club

11 AM
workshop for children: Laboratory of Modernism / lecture + walk / start: large auditorium room / prior registration required: hello@stowarzyszeniepakt.pl

2 PM
curator-led tour / start: auditorium hall

18.00
tour of the auditorium building / leader: Krzysztof Ziental / start: large auditorium room

25.06.2017, SUNDAY
11 AM‒12 midnight
exhibition
11AM-23PM
festival club

12 noon
lecture: Sound in architecture ‒ natural resonators and interactive multimedia projects (listening lesson #25 of Wrocław University Soundscape Research Studio) / lecturer: dr inż. arch. Ewa Cisek / large auditorium room

1.30 PM
sound walk: The acoustics of Wrocław’s public spaces / leader: dr Robert Losiak (Wrocław University Soundscape Research Studio) / start: auditorium hall / prior registration required

2 PM
curator-led tour / start: auditorium hall

4 PM
performance: George Brecht Eventscores / ETC Group / large auditorium room

6 PM
curator-led tour in English

6 PM
workshop: From DIY to a whale. Sound art critique workshop (part 1) / leader: Jan Topolski (Glissando) / start: auditorium hall / prior registration required

7 PM
performance: Triple Layers / Paweł Romańczuk / large auditorium room

26.06.2017, MONDAY
11 AM-10 PM
exhibition
11 AM-11 PM
festival club

2 PM
curator-led tour / start: auditorium hall

5.15 PM
lecture:The district of four challenges – higher education buildings designed by Krystyna and Marian Barski / lecturer: arch. Ewa Barska (Wrocław branch of the Association of Polish Architects) / large auditorium room

6 PM
film: Competition / director: Angel Borrego Cubero / Spain, 2013 / large auditorium room

7.45 PM
debate: Competition – the perfect solution? moderator: arch. Beata Stobiecka (Wrocław branch of the Association of Polish Architects), panellists: Hanna Wróblewska ( Zachęta – National Gallery of Art), arch. Jacek Lenart (member of the Szczecin branch of the Association of Polish Architects, Deputy President of the Executive Board of the Association of Polish Architects in charge of legal affairs), dr arch. Maciej Hawrylak (Chairman of the Competition Jury of the Wrocław branch of the Association of Polish Architects, member of the Executive Commitee of the Association of Polish Architects), arch. Piotr Fokczynski (Head of the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning of Wrocław Municipal Office, member of the Wrocław branch of the Association of Polish Architects, Deputy Chairman of the Lower Silesian Chamber of Architects), arch. Michał Gdak (Institute of Design Kielce) / large auditorium room

6 PM
workshop: From DIY to a whale. Sound art critique workshop (part 2) / leader: Jan Topolski (Glissando) / start: auditorium hall / prior registration required

27.06.2017, TUESDAY
11 AM-10 PM
exhibition
11 AM-10 PM
festival club

2 PM
BAW! Baby Art Walk ‒ tour of the exhibition for parents with small children / start: auditorium hall

6 PM
film: The Pruitt-Igoe / director: Chad Freidrichs / USA, 2011 / 1.19 h / large auditorium room

7.45 PM
debate: Is chemistry really here? / moderator: Michał Duda, panellists: Agata Chmielowska (City Historic Preservation Officer), dr hab. Rafał Eysymontt (Wrocław University), dr Agata Gabiś (Wrocław University), arch. Marta Mnich (Jednostka Architektury foundation, Vroa architectural studio), dr arch. Łukasz Wojciechowski (Jednostka Architektury foundation, Vroa architectural studio) / large auditorium room