UNFINISHED PALACE, MOVING PEOPLE, FLOATING BORDERS/EUROPEAN SONGLINES

The project “Unfinished palace, moving people, floating borders/European songlines” is a story of the motives, needs and facts connected to the migration of people in Europe. A poetic search for European identity is the point of departure for reflecting on the stability of borders and origins of culture. Artists from different disciplines, working together, cross the borders of various art forms in order to create the story of the history of human movements and migration.

Many artists and institutions are involved in the project – including Olga Tokarczuk, one of the most important contemporary Polish authors, Zbigniew Libera, famous for his iconoclastic installations, Bente Kahan, the promoter of Jewish culture in Poland, prominent German actors such as Barbara Nüsse and Peter Franke, Julia Marcell, who was awarded the ”Polityka” Passport award or the poet Matthias Göritz well known from the production 'Transfer!' by Jan Klata at the Współczesny Theater. The project is supported by the Grotowski Institute in Wroclaw, the European Capital of Culture Wroclaw 2016, Allianz Kulturstiftung, and many other outstanding diplomatic organizations such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany and The German Ministry of Culture /BKM/.

This multimedia performance created by Stephan Stroux is comprised of two interconnected parts, taking place both inside the buildings and on the platforms of the Świebodzki train station. The first part will take place daily, from August 31 to September 10, in the buildings of the train station. The audience will have the opportunity to take part in exhibits (including that of Marek Raczkowski), readings, film screenings, and concerts (including Małe Instrumenty, Julia Marcell, and Zar Theatre).

The whole of the project centers around the multimedia performance entitled “Don’t be so sure that you are legal,” which will be performed August 31 to September 3 on the platforms of the Świebodzki train station. Actors from the Polski Theatre in Wroclaw (Małgorzata Gorol, Adam Szczyszczaj, Marta Zięba), as well as actors regularly collaborating with the Grotowski Institute in Wroclaw (Ditte Berkeley, Matej Matejka, Agnieszka Ćwieląg), will perform in the show. The two parts are complementary but can also stand alone. Their mutual stories are complex and do not limit the artists’ nor the audience’s imaginations.

Part One (exhibits): 31/8 – 10/9, 5pm – 8:30pm

Part Two (performance of “Don’t be so sure that you are legal”): 31/8 – 3/9, 8:30pm