Running from June 16 to 23, the festival is part of Poland’s cultural programme for its presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The event opened with the Culture–Change–Europe Congress at the Polish embassy in Berlin, where Poland’s Culture Minister Hanna Wróblewska stressed the role of culture in overcoming conflict and division.
"Culture is the glue that helps us work through difficult experiences, understand one another and build relationships based on trust,” she said, adding that it can serve as a guiding force for a stronger and more united Europe.
The congress focused on how culture can strengthen international cooperation, especially in Polish-German relations.
Two panel discussions explored the transformation of the cultural sector in the face of migration, both from institutional and artistic perspectives.
The event was co-organised by the Avant Art Foundation and the Polish Institute in Berlin and concluded with the opening of Elixir, an exhibition of contemporary Polish art at Berlin's Nadan Gallery.
This sixth Avant Art Festival in Berlin features nearly 40 concerts, offering a wide-ranging showcase of Poland’s contemporary music scene.
Highlights include jazz performances by Marek Pospieszalski, Michał Barański, Qba Janicki and Jerzy Mączyński, alongside experimental avant-garde projects from AS Collective, Rozwód and T’ien Lai.
Other musicians and artists, such as Gary Gwadera and Sam Kowalski, reinterpret Polish folk traditions in bold new ways.
The visual arts programme comprises four exhibitions.
Our Touch is the Touch of Feminists, curated by Marta Smolińska, features works by Ewa Partum and Mehtap Baydu.
Elixir, curated by Natalia Barczyńska and Monika Łuszpak-Skiba, presents works by Natalia Janula and Wojciech Skiba.
A third show, Hardcore & Soul, brings together emerging Polish artists, while a recorded performance of The Dream of Linnaeus’ Daughter by Katarzyna Kozyra is also on display, drawn from the collection of the National Museum in Wrocław.
An additional feature of the festival is Rhythmic Lines, an audiovisual installation showcasing the work of early 20th-century Polish artist Wacław Szpakowski, viewable in the windows of the Polish Institute in Berlin.
Polish Art Week/Avant Art Festival Berlin is co-financed by Poland’s Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
The full programme is available at instytutpolski.pl/berlin.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, gov.pl