I was invited to participate in a collective symposium which culminated at the Central Museum of Textiles in Łodz (PL) on April 12 for the finissage of the 18th International Textile Triennial.
Together with Niels Albers (as part of Studio Charlott Markus – SE/NL), Safi Niang, Souleymane Bachir Diaw (Atelier Ndokette – (GN & SN), and Jan Tomza-Osiecki (PL) we curated a display in the huge glass cabinet of the museums entrance, made a semipermanent outdoor sculpture on the museum grounds and developed a performative walk connecting the two locations.
The closing ceremony is the last chance to see the 18th International Textile Triennial "Deconstruction/Reconstruction. It's also a unique opportunity to experience art in a variety of ways. Guided tours, installations and walks, workshops, performances, and a meet-and-greet.
The titel of the event: A boat on the river – a non-obvious story – inauguration of the in situ installation/sculpture and a performative walk (event in English, translated into Polish)
"The event marks the culmination of the international symposium accompanying the Triennial – the inauguration of an in-situ installation and a sculpture created collectively by the participants, and a performative walk that will launch the resulting work in the museum's outdoor space. This activity aligns with the Triennial's concept of a platform for dialogue and exchange between artists from diverse cultural contexts.
The installation was created through a collaborative effort by artists representing diverse practices and approaches to the medium of textiles: Charlott Markus and Niels Albers (Studio Charlott Markus – Sweden, the Netherlands), Safi Niang, Souleymane Bachir Diaw (Atelier Ndokette – Guinea, Senegal), and Jan Tomza-Osiecki (Poland). Its implementation was preceded by research into the archives of the Central Textile Museum in Łódź and an understanding of the city's history and the institution's collections. The result is an artistic intervention that combines local heritage with contemporary strategies for working with fabric.
An integral part of the event will be a performative walk prepared by the seminar participants. During the walk, original stories inspired by the history and heritage of Łódź will be read. Transformed into a fairy tale, these stories gain a universal, cross-cultural dimension. Movement, narration, sound and the presence of the body activate the installation space, creating a shared experience for the audience."
The curator of the symposium is Marta Kowalewska. Kowalewska is the chief curator at the Central Museum of Textiles and the Chair of the Supervisory Board at the Magdalena Abakanowicz foundation.