We proudly present to you the digital versions of Poznań Art Week catalogues from the first two editions of the festival – 2017 and 2018. They will allow viewers of the online edition of Poznań Art Week online 2020 “Remedy” to learn about the beginnings of the cultural initiative that brought together the members of Poznań artistic community active in the field of visual arts. Programmes of both events combined the idea of locality with internationalism. Both editions featured works by Polish and foreign artists. Although the emphasis was mostly placed on the integration of numerous institutions representing the capital of the Wielkopolska Region, there was also a close cooperation with external entities – galleries and museums in Poland and worldwide that agreed to lend their exhibits for the
event, such as Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Museum of Art in Łódź or Wrocław Contemporary Museum. From today’s perspective, we can say that the catalogues brilliantly captured the scale of the event and its vast audience. The texts of various authors included in the catalogues are also a proof of the dynamic change that the cultural landscape of Poznań has seen over the last 4 years. The catalogues are therefore an important document of history. Reader can relive past events, but at the same time, they may also experience them for the very first time. To conclude this introduction, let us use a quote from the introductory text to the Poznań Art Week 2017 catalogue by Mateusz Bieczyński and Maciej Kurak, the creators, curators, and coordinators of the festival:
The first Poznań Art Week festival (2017) has shown that it will certainly be a challenge to organise its next editions. Although the goals set for the inauguration of this cyclical event have been achieved, there is still much to do to build a common information infrastructure for visual arts in Poznań. It is extremely important – also from the point of view of the UAP, as well as its lecturers who are artists, its students and graduates – to establish thriving public and private institutions offering coherent, original and inspiring programmes. Such institutions could become cultural centres, where artists could develop their professional careers in the field of visual arts. Regardless of whether or not they would cooperate with the UAP, the potential for a fruitful debate on the status of art, its social functions and the direction of further changes should no longer be wasted! The discussions initiated by the first Poznań Art Week festival allow us to hope that the next editions will inspire a deep reflection on the current problems of the artistic milieu in Poznań and will contribute to finding creative and effective solutions.
Poznań Art Week, 2017, catalogue, p. 20
POZNAŃ ART WEEK 2017 – Retouch – LINK
POZNAŃ ART WEEK 2018 – Redistribution – LINK
