5th Congress “Sculpture in Public Space”

National Museum in Szczecin, 3 Wały Chrobrego Street

Castle of the Pomeranian Dukes in Szczecin, ul. Korsarzy 34

Partners: Pomeranian Dukes' Castle in Szczecin, Architecture and Business

The “Sculpture in Public Space” Congress is one of the most important platforms in Poland for reflection on the history, theory and practice of sculpture in public space. It has the character of an open, interdisciplinary meeting, combining research, curatorial, artistic and practical perspectives. The theoretical part is complemented by accompanying events of an artistic nature.

The Centre for Polish Sculpture in Orońsko has been creating this event since 2022, initially under the name “Sculpture everywhere?”. It is being prepared as part of a multi-year, own investment program, co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and launched in 2021. The CRP grant program is currently the most important national instrument for financing sculptural projects in the public space.

We are preparing the 5th edition of the Congress in a format renewed in 2025, in cooperation with an institutional partner and with his substantive participation. The event allows to analyze the effects of the investment program in Poland in combination with a broad international perspective.

Moderator: Bartłomiej Struzik, Professor of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, Head of the Department of Architectural and Sculptural Design and Vice-Rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow

The first day of the Congress will be devoted to reflection on the relationship between sculpture and public space — understood as a dynamic field of meanings, meetings, negotiations and transformations. On this day, the program combines the perspective of the author's artistic strategies and examples of concrete sculptural realizations with expert analysis. In this way, we create a multi-voiced introduction to the issues covered by the general slogan: “Sculpture in public space as an art of context”.

The first part of the event entitled “Author's creative strategies and dialogue with context” will be a presentation of author's sculptural practices and selected works in public space. These presentations will provide a reference point and context for the experts' conversation. The program of the first day of the Congress includes five speeches devoted to the author's creative work strategies and ways of building a dialogue with the context. In this part of the event, renowned artists representing different generations, different artistic backgrounds and creative techniques will speak. They will be Xawery Wolski and Jerzy Kędziora, Agata Agatowska, Jan Szczypka and Jerzy Lipczyński. In their presentations, the artists will attempt to answer the question of how contemporary sculpture in public space goes beyond the traditional understanding of an autonomous art object, becoming a relational practice that co-creates the meanings of a place, influences its perception and initiates social engagement and discussions. Each presentation will show a different model of work with sculpture and its context — from intimate interventions, subtly fitting into the existing fabric of space, to realizations that consciously transform it. The common denominator of the presentation will be a reflection on the role of sculpture as a tool for interpreting and redefining common space.

The second module of the first day of the Congress entitled “Art of context — sculpture in public space as a factor of transformation of place” is a conversation of invited experts, which will be devoted to the analysis of the impact of contemporary sculpture on public space — understood not only as the background of the exhibition, but also as an active component of meanings, social relations and user experiences. Participants of the discussion will be: Paulina Kurc-Maj (director of the Centre for Polish Sculpture in Orońsko), Anna Maria Leśniewska (Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Film School in Lodz), sculptor Grażyna Jaskierska-Albrzykowska (Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław) and architect Anna Maria Wierzbicka (Warsaw University of Technology).

The programme of events accompanying the first day of the Congress includes a screening of the short film “Strange Rain” written and directed by Karolina Breguła and a meeting with Weronika Fibich and Rafał Foremski, co-curators of the interdisciplinary project Szczodra. Both events will take place in the Pomeranian Dukes Castle in Szczecin.

Moderator: Jarosław Lubiak, Deputy Director for Scientific Affairs of the National Museum in Szczecin

The second day of the Congress will focus on the role of art in public space in the context of ecological and social transformation of cities. At the center of the discussion will be the problem of mutual interaction — resonance — of the work and the context: landscape, architectural, urban and social. The invited curators, artists and other creators of culture and representatives of the humanities will try to answer the question of how artistic interventions in public space can lead to its revaluation — aesthetic, functional and symbolic.

Key questions determining the direction of the discussion include, among others, the extent to which contemporary sculpture in public space can create the identity of a place — whether it reinforces it, or rather transforms or destabilizes it; where is the line between the autonomy of artistic expression and the interference with space and common sensibility; what responsibilities do artists and public institutions have in the process of introducing art into urban spaces landscape or landscape.

Modern cities, in the face of climate change and the destabilization of ecosystems, face the need to rethink the relationship between residents, the natural environment and cultural institutions. The special character of Szczecin — a city with unique potential, resulting from its location at the junction of land and water, within the complex hydrological system of Międzyodrze — will become a background for reflection on the relationship between art, urbanization processes and ecological challenges.

The first panel of the day, “How does art change cities? Forms of Public Art”, which will be attended by an international group of curators, will be devoted to the analysis of selected models of public art developed in Northern European cities. Practices using experimental curatorial strategies, integrating artistic and ecological functions and developing participatory models of co-creation of public space will be presented.

The case studies discussed in the first part will be the starting point for the discussion panel “What public art do we need?” , during which representatives of the sculptural, architectural, activist and academic circles associated with Szczecin will reflect on the directions of development of the city and the role of public art in shaping its future. Rooted in the local context of Szczecin, the discussion will aim to formulate broader conclusions about the potential of public art in prototyping and testing solutions supporting the development of 21st century cities.

The programme of events accompanying the second day of the Congress includes a cruise on the Odra Queen, combined with a performative lecture conducted by the Centrum Centrum collective — Łukasz Jastrubczak and Małgorzata Mazur.

National Museum in Szczecin, Castle of Pomeranian Dukes in Szczecin