CULTURAL EVENTS

Cultural Events 2007

Embassy Warsaw "Returns to the Moon" for Warsaw Science Picnic

On May 26th, 2007, the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw participated in the Science Picnic with a new exhibit titled “Return to the Moon” which highlights past space exploration with plans for future missions to the Moon.  The inspiration for this exhibit came from the announcement on January 14, 2004 by U.S. President George W. Bush committing the United States to a long-term human and robotic program to explore the solar system, starting with a return to the Moon that will ultimately enable future exploration of Mars and other destinations. (more) 

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Mickey Mouse as the guest of honor of the special concert of Walt Disney Magic Music. Mickey Mouse will be the guest of honor of the special (free) concert of Walt Disney Magic Music performed live by the Polish Radio Orchestra on December 8 at  4p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Focus Building, Al.Armii Ludowej 26 announced Cultural Attache James Wolfe. The concert, organized by the City of Warsaw, the Walt Disney Company and Trinity Entertainment will be the first in a series. Invitations to the concert must be picked up in the Traffic Club, ul. Bracka 25, 10:00-22:00. Please come with your child to pick up the invitation.
For more info please visit: www.magicznekoncerty.pl

Eldar Trio Performs in Warsaw. A young jazz group currently causing a sensation in the jazz world, the Eldar Trio paid its first visit to Warsaw for two performances.  The trio is led by young pianist and composer Eldar Djangirov, and also stars Aaron McLendon on drums and Harish Raghavan on bass.  The band appeared before a full house at the Melodia Club in Warsaw on Nov. 28 at 20:30 and also performed and conducted master classes at Chopin High School for Music on ul. Bednarska on Nov. 27.  The Melodia concert featured as an opening act the latest line-up of the U4 Quartet, led by another promising young pianist – Uraz Kivaner (Melodia Club, Nowy Swiat 3/5 at 19:00).(more) (more photos)

American Photography Professor Harris Fogel Chairs Jury for 2nd Warsaw Biannual of Media Art. American photography professor Harris Fogel of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia was the Chairman of the Jury for the student works competition that accompanies the 2nd Warsaw Biannual of Media Art in Warsaw organized by the Academy of Fine Arts (ASP).  An exhibition of Fogel’s selected photography opened on Nov. 19 at the Media Art Gallery, at Spokojna 15. The works come from 2 series of works, “A Few American Cultures” and “Crack Bags and Other Stories,” presenting his work resulting  from 20 years of exploring America’s varied geographical and cultural landscape. Prof. Fogel also presented 2 lectures in Warsaw, one of them entitled “Remastering the Past” under the America Presents program at the Embassy where he talked about his own work and fascinations, including the influence of photography on the American presidency. (more)

The Polish Radio Orchestra will perform Symphony No 3 by Philip Glass in a special November 18 concert under the Honorary Patronage of Ambassador Victor Ashe.  The performance pays tribute to the composer’s 70th year.  Through his operas, symphonies, compositions for his own ensemble, and wide-ranging collaborations with artists ranging from Twyla Tharp to Allen Ginsberg, Woody Allen, and David Bowie, Philip Glass has had an extraordinary and unprecedented impact upon the musical and intellectual life of his times. The Polish Radio Orchestra led by Lukasz Borowicz will also play music by Eric Satie and Jacques Ibert in the November 18 at the Lutoslawski Concert Studio.  The concert will be transmitted live on PR2 at 19:00.
To read more about Philip Glass, go to: http://www.philipglass.com

Poznan to Host “Made in Chicago” Jazz Festival November 16-18. It is said that jazz was born in New Orleans and grew up in Chicago. Poznan is trying to become another landmark on the jazz map: for the 2nd time it will be the scene of the “Made in Chicago” Jazz Festival on 16 – 18 November.  The festival is organized jointly by the Estrada Poznanska and the Jazz Institute of Chicago. (more)

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Winners Presented in Competition of American Poetry Translation in Sandomierz. Muzeum Okregowe in Sandomierz honored the laureates of the Competition of American Poetry Translation focusing on Elizabeth Bishop’s poetry on October 26.  Cultural Attaché James Wolfe, who is the honorary patron and sponsor of the program, attended and handed out books to the first and second place winners. The Literary Department of the Museum focused on young audiences of college and university students and the members of the jury are famous translators of poetry Jerzy Jarniewicz, Leszek Engelking, and Mieczysław Godyń.  To learn more about the competition results go to: www.republika.pl/sandomierz

Muzeum Okregowe in Sandomierz will honor the laureates of the Competition of American Poetry Translation focusing on Elizabeth Bishop’s poetry on October 26, announced Cultural Attache James Wolfe who is the honorary patron and sponsor of the program. The Literary Department of the Museum is focusing on young audiences of college and university students and the members of the jury are famous translators of poetry Jerzy Jarniewicz, Leszek Engelking, and Mieczysław Godyń.  To learn more about the competition results go to: www.republika.pl/sandomierz

Cultural Attaché Speaks at Bydgoszcz Conference on Native Americans. Cultural Attaché James Wolfe spoke on 515 Years of American Indians’ relations with European colonizers and the United States Government at the conference “In the Spirit of Crazy Horse?” at Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz October 19.  The conference marked the end of Native American Days, which ran October 17-19, and was organized by the Polish Society of Indian Americans Friends and the University.  The University library also displayed an exhibit of American Indian costumes, tools, and other artifacts, some genuine and some creations of local artists, including Professor Adam Piekarski, who was the main organizer of the events.  (more)

Wroclaw “The Crew” Wins Second Polish American Football League Championship. In the second annual Polish American Football League (Polskia Liga Futbolu Amerykańskiego) Championship Game on October 14, The Crew of Wroclaw defeated the Silesia Miners 18-0.  The game took place at the Marymount Stadium in Warsaw’s Zoliborz district, under the Honorary Patronage of U.S. Ambassador Victor Ashe and Warsaw Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz.  League president (and Warsaw Eagles quarterback) Jedrzej Steszewski handed out the championship and second place trophies, U.S. Cultural Attaché James Wolfe handed out the trophy for the game’s Most Valuable Player to running back Paweł Wojcieszak of The Crew, and Inga Uchymiak of the North American Sports Network  handed out “Bronze Ball” trophies to the three best players from the entire 2007 season.  (more)

Man Ray's Photographic Exhibition at the Art Center Studio Gallery.An exhibition of the photographs of Man Ray, icon of American photography, opened on Monday, October 29 at 14:00 at the Art Center Studio Gallery in the Palace of Culture in Warsaw. The exhibition “Man Ray: Magus and Discoverer” is taking place under the honorary patronage of Ambassador Ashe and was shown in Krakow’s Museum of History of Photography this past spring.  Cultural Attache James Wolfe spoke at the opening, along with the gallery director and the curator.  The exhibition will be on display until November 25 and admission is free. (more)

Polish-American artist Ryszard Orski at the Krolikarnia. Twenty five sculptures by Polish-American artist Ryszard Orski constitute the exhibition at the Krolikarnia that Deputy Chief of Mission Kenneth Hillas helped open on October 4.  The exhibit will run until October 14.  The works represent 35 years of Orski’s work, 11 of which he spent in the United States.  The first exhibition after artist’s return in 1973 took place in the Consulate General in Krakow, and they later were presented in many European galleries, including the 42nd Venice Biennial where he represented Poland in 1986. Since 2002 Ryszard Orski has been operating his own gallery in Zakopane. “The sculptures by Ryszarad Orski combine traditions of Polish folk art of Southern Poland and pre-Columbian native American motifs,” noted DCM Hillas in his opening remarks. (more photos)
For more info on Orski and his work go to: http://www.orskigallery.com

Photo Exhibit of American Writers Opening in Warsaw. An exhibit of 43 photographs of contemporary American writers by Nancy Crampton will open at Galeria Sztuki Mediow, of the Academy of Fine Arts at Spokojna 15 on Tuesday, October 2, at 18:00.  Author Nancy Crampton has been a photographer of literary artists for thirty-five years. Her exhibition features portraits of major American novelists, poets and playwrights.  Each photograph is paired with a text from the writer that includes their thoughts on the craft of writing, recollections of the moments which influenced their writing, or a discussion of the social importance of writing.  Many of the subjects of the photographs are well-known, such as Susan Sontag, Saul Bellow, Norman Mailer, Toni Morrison and John Cheever.  Nancy Crampton collected more than a hundred of these portraits in the book “WRITERS,” published in 2005, now available at ABE Marketing, Grzybowska 37A and CoLiber, Plac Bankowy bookstores. The exhibit was earlier shown in Krakow and Katowice and will travel to Dąbrowa Górnicza, Lodz and Wroclaw.

Liss Fain Dance to Appear in Chełm and Lublin. San Francisco group LISS FAIN DANCE will be the star of this year’s Contemporary Dance Forum in Lublin (Sept. 20-23, 2007) performing September 23 in Lublin and September 21 in the Chełm Cultural Center.  The Liss Fain Dance will also be holding dance workshops in Chełm September 19-21 and in Lublin September 22-23.  Renowned for its innovative blending of fast-paced modern dance with the clarity and vertical lift of ballet, the company is consistently exploring new ways of presenting dance ranging form concerts of all dance pieces to works integrating dance, visual design and technology done in collaboration with film makers and visual designers. (more)

Marriott Hotel

Polish Choir Performing Free 9/11 Concert at Marriott.  The “Allegrezza del Canto” choir group will perform a free concert in the lobby of the Warsaw Marriott Hotel at 18:00 on Tuesday September 11.  The performance, under the direction of Szymon Wyrzykowski, will include “Już się zmerzcha” by Wacław z Szamotuł, “Psalm” by Mikołaj Gomółka, “Ave Maria,” “Miserere” by Antonio Lotti, “Agnus Dei” by Wojciech Kilar, and “Gonna Study War No More” – a traditional Negro spiritual.  The American Embassy thanks the group for the kind gesture and the Marriott for hosting them.  Patrons of the National Philharmonic’s nearby performance at 19:00 of Wojciech Kilar’s “September Symphony” in honor of 9/11 victims may find a visit to the “Allegrezza del Canto” performance at the Marriott to be an ideal way to begin their evening.

Tall Ships, Herman Melville, and Joseph Conrad Converge on Szczecin. The Melville Society will hold a major international conference in Szczecin August 4-7 entitled “Hearts of Darkness: Melville and Conrad in the Space of World Culture” under the patronage of Polish President Lech Kaczyński, Ambassador of United States Victor Ashe, and Rector of the University of Silesia in Katowice Janusz Janeczek.  In keeping with the nautical themes prevalent in the literary works of Herman Melville and Joseph Conrad, the City of Szczecin arranged for Tall Ships Races to take place during the same period and for the official opening ceremonies of the conference to be held on board the Dar Młodzieży. The American Embassy has supported preparation for the events over the past two years in a variety of ways.  During the four days of the conference, films based on the writings of Melville and Conrad will be shown in Szczecin’s Pioneer Cinema. (more)

Doug Adkins and band perform at 10th Western Piknik in Sulomino

Doug Adkins Headlines 10th Annual Western Piknik on Wolin Island. Country singer Doug Adkins of Montana and his band performed two sets for thousands of country music fans at the 10th annual “Western Piknik” in Sulomino, Poland.  In his first set, Adkins and company performed covers of some of American Country & Western music’s best-loved artists, including Johnny Cash.  The second set treated the enthusiastic crowd to modern country tunes, including Adkins’ original material.  Cultural Attaché James Wolfe joined local and regional officials and Piknik organizer Dariusz Stepien in the official opening ceremonies and introduced Doug Adkins, whose appearance was funded in large part by the American Embassy.  (more)

Ambassador Hosts Tennessee Teachers Visiting Historic Jewish Sites in Poland. U.S. Ambassador Victor Ashe hosted a lunch for a visiting delegation of 28 teachers from Tennessee traveling on a program co-organized by the Tennessee Holocaust Commission. The teachers were traveling on a program that will bring them to key sites, such as the Warsaw Ghetto, Lublin, Treblinka, Krakow, and Auschwitz.  The Commission and the Embassy cooperated in the June 21 opening of the “Living On” exhibit, which will run in Warsaw through August 24 at the Spokojna Gallery (Ulica Spokojna 15). (more)

From Left to Right, Conductor Bruno Aprea, Suzanne Aprea, U.S. Ambassador to Poland Victor Ashe, and Ambassador of Malta in Poland, Vincenzo Manno

Palm Beach Conductor Bruno Aprea Visits Warsaw. Conductor of the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra Bruno Aprea visited the residence of U.S. Ambassador to Poland, Victor Ashe on July 11, 2007. Aprea is in Warsaw at the invitation of the Warsaw Chamber Opera and will perform the Mozart Requiem at the Seminary Cathedral at 8 PM on July 13th, 2007.

  

 

Mrs. Joan Ashe Addresses the Crowd at the Celebration

American Chamber Celebrates American Independence Day in Warsaw. Mrs. Joan Ashe, the wife of Ambassdor Victor Ashe, represented the Embassy at the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland's (AmCham) Independence Day celebration on July 7 in the beautiful park at the Krolikarnia Museum in central Warsaw.  Despite the inclement weather, hundreds of AmCham members, their families, Embassy personnel and other guests turned out for a wonderful celebration featuring remarks by Mrs. Ashe, Presentation of Colors by the Embassy's own Marine Security Guard Detachment, live music, great food and even fireworks. (more)

Battery Dance Company performs “Shell Games”

New York’s Battery Dance Company Performed July 6 at Silesian Dance Festival in Bytom. The Battery Dance Company performed two works by company choreographer Jonathan Hollander to the delight of a packed house at the Silesian Dance Theater on the second last night of the 14th annual modern dance festival in Bytom.  There were many American performers and choreographers appearing on stage and offering workshops during the festival which ran June 24 through July 7.  The U.S. Embassy in Warsaw and the U.S. Consulate General in Krakow provided financial support for the Battery Dance Company’s appearance at the festival. (more) 

Polish-American Artist Tadeusz Lapinski Opens Exhibit on July 4 in Paderewski Museum. The retrospective exhibit of works produced from 1953-2003 opened to a packed hall in the museum in Warsaw’s Lazienki Park.  The artist invited Cultural Attaché James Wolfe to address the audience before the opening.  Lapinski has served as professor of painting and graphic design at the University of Maryland since 1972.  He was born in Poland and also lived in France, Brazil, and Yugoslavia before moving to the United States.  U.S. Ambassador Victor Ashe and Minister of Culture Kazimierz Ujazdowski are the honorary patrons of the exhibit. (more) 

Ambassador Ashe Addresses Participants in Film and Debate on Milton Friedman

Ambassador Victor Ashe Greets Guests at July 4 Showing of Milton Friedman Film.  The ITI Group’s Onet.pl and the Adam Smith Center of Warsaw arranged for the showing of the Milton Friedman documentary The Power of Choice, which was followed by a debate on the principles of laissez-faire economics that the Nobel laureate espoused during his lifetime.  The Ambassador thanked the organizers for honoring the 231st celebration of America’s Independence Day with the event and commented on Friedman’s influence on U.S. economic and political thought over the past few decades.  Friedman passed away in November 2006. (more)

 

Cultural Specialist Magda Wacisz distributes books to eager English teachers

U.S. Embassy supports English Teaching Market in Stare Jablonki. On June 28th, Consul General Lisa Piascik spoke to well over 500 teachers of English from around Poland at the annual three-day event - organized by the Nida Foundation and the Polish-American Freedom Foundation - which teachers of English attend free of charge.  CG Piascik presented opening remarks on the Embassy's English language teaching program highlighting the establishment of a Young Learners Resource Center in Warsaw for English language teachers (and Embassy plans to expand the program to other areas of Poland), changes in English language teaching methodologies over the years, and how teachers and diplomats share many of the same roles. (more)

 

Jacob Kilstein, "Living On" Photographic Exhibit

"Living On" Photographic Exhibit Opens in Warsaw. Ambassador Victor Ashe opened the “Living On / Którzy przeżyli” photographic exhibition featuring Holocaust survivors at the Spokojna Gallery (Ulica Spokojna 15) of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw on June 21 at 6:00pm.  Also participating in the opening ceremony were Rabbi Michael Schudrich, the Rector of the Academy of Fine Arts, and exhibit photographer Professor Robert Heller of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and Felicia Anchor of the Tennessee Holocaust Commission. The opening night was well attended.  “Living On” delivers an inspiring message of the victory of life over death by telling the stories of Holocaust survivors, liberators, prisoners of war, and witnesses who came from or moved to the state of Tennessee.  Most of the photographs being shown in Warsaw feature individuals born within the borders of pre-World War II Poland or whose major experience of the war was on Polish soil.  Each photograph is accompanied by the person’s story in Polish and English.  “Living On” shows how deeply this dark part in history continues to touch on all of us in ways that link us, Poles and Americans alike – even in just one of the fifty states of the United States of America. The American Embassy has brought the exhibition to Poland from the United States in cooperation with the Tennessee Holocaust Commission.  The exhibition will run through August 24.  For exhibit hours and ticket information, please contact the Academy of Fine Arts. The American Embassy would like to thank the Academy of Fine Arts for hosting the exhibition and Sheraton Warsaw Hotel for supporting it.(more)

Exhibit sponsors, curator Maria Brewińska and Zacheta Director Agnieszka Morawińska as Ambassador Ashe addresses the opening night crowd. (more photos)

Ambassador Ashe Speaks at Opening of Zacheta’s Bill Viola Exhibit. U.S. Ambassador to Poland, Victor Ashe, spoke at the opening of a major solo exhibition of pioneer video artist Bill Viola at the Zacheta National Gallery of Art on May 11.  The U.S. Embassy is helping to support the exhibit, which runs May 11-July 1.  This is the first solo exhibition in Poland of Viola’s work and the only one on this scale in Central and Eastern Europe. Viola himself and his wife and creative partner Kira Perov attended the opening and a May 11 press conference, also attended by Cultural Attaché James Wolfe. (more)

 

 

American pianist Professor David Northington played a series of enthusiastically-received solo recitals of Chopin waltzes at the Miejski Dom Kultury in Katowice on May 17; at the Residence of U.S. Ambassador to Poland, Victor Ashe, in Warsaw on May 18; and at a heavily-attended open-air concert at the Chopin Monument in Warsaw’s Lazienki Park on May 20.  The American Embassy brought Dr. Northington to Poland for the second consecutive year after he played several concerts in May 2006. Dr. Northington is a Professor of Piano at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. (more)

Ambassador Ashe and American Embassy Pay Tribute to I.J. Paderewski With April 20 Concert Event. The American Embassy and the Muzeum Wychodżstwa Polskiego im. Ignacego Jan Paderewskiego presented a concert and tribute to the contributions of Ignacy Jan Paderewski to Polish-American relations and world affairs on the evening of April 20.  Paderewski was rightly known as a masterful pianist, celebrated composer, gifted orator, tireless philanthropist, exemplary patriot, and respected statesman.  The concert was preceded by short remarks by Ambassador Victor Ashe and others focusing on Paderewski’s life and on his role as a friend of the United States and of several American presidents.  American virtuoso pianist and Paderewski expert John Robilette played a program selected from Paderewski’s repertoire, including pieces by Schumann, Beethoven, Chopin, Saint-Saens, and Paderewski himself. (more)

U.S. Ambassador to Poland Victor Ashe and the Mayor of Poznan Ryszard Grobelny are the honorary patrons over the Reciting and Artistic Competition of American Science Fiction Prose for high-school students in Poznan. The contest is organized by the high-school 21 in Poznan and the Foreign Languages School Program- Bell. The elimination process will take place on May 30-31st and the finals on June 4th in Poznan. As preparation for the competition, the students are given a selection of excerpts on American literature as well as a list of suggested books to read. During the competition, they will recite them and try to recreate the atmosphere of the whole novel. The competitors will also use music, costumes, or other forms of artistic expression in their performances. The jury will evaluate the overall performance and the contestants’ fluency in English.

The American Embassy is working to support a solo exhibition at Zacheta National Gallery of Art May 11 through July 1 of the highly distinguished artist, video art pioneer Bill Viola, announced Cultural Attaché James Wolfe. This will be the first solo exhibition in Poland of Viola’s work and the only one on this scale in Central and Eastern Europe. Viola himself will attend the opening.  Bill Viola is a pioneer in the medium of video art and is internationally recognized as one of today’s leading artists, instrumental in the establishment of video as a vital form of contemporary art. For over 35 years he has created videotapes, architectural video installations, sound environments, electronic music performances, flat panel video pieces, and works for television broadcast (more).

The 12th Port Wroclaw Literary festival  http://www.biuroliterackie.pl/imprezy/festiwal.php will have a strong American component this year announced Cultural Attaché James Wolfe.  The festival will include an appearance by American poet August Kleinzahler http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/1539, a series of documentary films of major American poets supplied by the Embassy, and the debut of the long awaited Polish anthology of American poets by Piotr Sommer O Krok od Nich.  The American Corner http://www.amcorners.pl/wroclaw/index.htm will host a poetic photography exhibit of the New York city-scape by Polish–American artist Jan Hausbrandt and have a special film show of a documentary on American poet Robert Lowell (more).

On April 21 in Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, Fred Ritchin, associate chair of the Department of Photography and Imaging at New York University, gave a lecture on Photography in the Digital Age

The Embassy is supporting the 3rd Warsaw Artistic Photography Festival which will begin March 22nd under the Honorary Patronage of Ambassador Victor Ashe, announced Cultural Attaché Jim Wolfe.  This two-month-long event is taking place in the most prestigious galleries around Warsaw and will have a strong American component this year: works of American students of photography will take part in the nation-wide competition and two distinguished guest speakers will appear at the Academy of Fine Arts to talk about American Photography. First one of them - Sandra Phillips, curator of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, will offer a lecture “John Szarkowski and American Photography” at 17:00, March 23. The lecture will take place at the Cinema Hall, Academy of Fine Arts, Krakowskie Przedmieście 5.  Sandra Philips’ visit is sponsored by the American Embassy and the Intercontinental Hotel. More info on Sandra Philips you will find under: http://poland.usembassy.gov/poland/american_experts.htm