Institution

MISSION

 

“Logic leads us from point A to B, the imagination will take us everywhere”

– let us recall the words of Albert Einstein as he talked about art and culture, social phenomena in which fantasy and inventiveness are the most important.

 

Seeking that which is the most interesting, revealing, and which encourages reflection, we feel obliged to create CCA LAZNIA as an institution that can accept the civilizational challenges of the times we live in, while caring for beauty and truth.

 

CSW ŁAŹNIA as its primary objective aims at the presentation and dissemination of the universal values of contemporary art as part of the world’s cultural heritage. Our mission is to present the latest artistic phenomena in their process of transformation, to respond to the cultural and civilizational phenomena of the modern world – while at the same time to educate within this scope through the use of new media and technologies. The goals of the institution are realized through the organization of exhibitions, performances, interventions in public space, workshops, scientific conferences, lectures, concerts and film screenings, as well as through publishing, international exchanges, artistic residences and innovative educational programs.

 

The most important issues present in the CCA LAZNIA program include diverse and multi-faceted combinations of art and science, the phenomenon of art modifying urban tissue, experimental music and films, video art, artistic events at the junction of disciplines, and cooperation to benefit local communities.

 

By addressing issues often involving ethical and moral norms, through considerations conducted within the framework of artistic projects, we hope to enable our audience to engage both their doubts and dreams through art, while at the same time to respond to the real problems and needs of Dolne Miasto and Nowy Port.

 

CSW ŁAŹNIA is currently one of Poland’s most important institutions engaged in contemporary art. It is also becoming more and more recognized around the world.

1. The program of CCA LAZNIA is based on four pillars:
2. Art in public space
3. Art and science
4. International exchange/residences
5. Education

Summarizing our vision, we remain true to the idea expressed in words spoken during a debate held November 2011 in Poznań, and which perfectly portray how we imagine a modern cultural institution:

“Culture isn’t for everybody – it’s for each of us. And its task is to present each of us – not only a chosen ‘culturally competent’ few – with the chance to fulfil our personal potential.”

 

 

CCA LAZNIA is located in two facilities:
 

LAZNIA 1 at ul. Jaskółcza 1, Dolne Miasto

international art, experiments, education/renewal

 

LAZNIA 2 at ul. Strajku Dokerów 5, Nowy Port

local art, Polish art, more classical art, study cinema, education/renewal

 

The two facilities create an artistic space integrated in their activities, which extends from Dolne Miasto all the way to Nowy Port. Our activities have given Gdańsk a new visual setting in the form of artistic installations and attractive activities engaging invited artists from Poland and abroad.

 

The most important projects carried out by CCA LAZNIA include:

 

City of Gdańsk Outdoor Gallery – a project initiated in 2005 whose primary goal is to impact the image of the city through two forms of activity:

• an international competition for a durable work of art in public space – realisation of the winning projects from previous editions;
• development of a pilot program for the neighbourhoods of Dolne Miasto and Nowy Port concerning the condition and the planning of works of art, cultural and artistic activities in public space, in cooperation with the Institute of Public Space Studies;
• continuation of educational campaigns targeting the local community, including within the framework of renewal activities and the organising of conferences together with publications engaging professional circles as a means of promoting the city and promoting our achievements;
• The Festival of Art in Public Space.

Art+Science Meeting – conducted since 2011, targeting hybrid spheres of encounters of art with science and technology through a series of diverse activities including exhibitions, conferences, seminars and workshops.

The primary aims of the project consist of a discussion of phenomena linking art and science which was initiated by the scientific conference titled “Towards a third culture. Coexistence of art, science and technology,” organized as part of the “Art Line” project and complementing the first edition of the project. The exhibition cycle planned for successive years will explore robotics, bioart, communication technologies, broadly-defined ICT solutions, and also outer space.

 

Cities on the Edge – a project whose aim is to look at regions “on the edge,” beyond our European perspective, going beyond the borders of our continent. As part of the exhibitions, artists from the Palestinian Autonomy, Cuba, Colombia and Chile have presented their work, places that may be more associated with conflict than art. In 2019–2023, we plan to present contemporary art with individual and collective exhibitions from Africa, Ecuador, and Cuba.

 

Incubator – a program presenting and promoting young art. It shows its most interesting elements, thus revealing a new language of art. Its aim is to show the enormous potential of the young generation to both audiences and curators. The program is open to discussion, it assumes the organization of both individual and group presentations that provide a good platform for exchanging experiences. We would like the Incubator to become a platform for the confrontation of the young art scene and a contribution to the study of the trends emerging within it.

 

Residencies Program – a new element of the CCA LAZNIA program, initiated in 2013 and expanded in 2017 to address curators and researchers, which we intend to continue growing in the coming years. Artistic Residences, primarily in the visual arts, are addressed to artists, curators, and researchers from Poland and abroad. Some of them will focus on a particular goal in the form of an exhibition, while others will concentrate more on a process. An important element of the entire project is cooperation with the local community, learning, experimenting, and the mobility of the participants. The program will involve the continuation of artistic and curator residences, as well as intensive courses conducted by specialists in art curation and criticism. These activities are largely based on external funds acquired from international programs.

 

Miracle on the Dead Vistula – an exceptional event consisting of a series of workshops, games and attractions, this has become a permanent fixture on the calendar of Tri-City cultural events, addressed to its youngest residents. Every year we choose the theme for the next edition of the Miracle on the Dead Vistula. During one day, from noon to 11:00pm, the animators and artists involved in the undertaking take up a selected topic together with participants in the form of workshops, presentations, and games.

 

IN OUT Festival –  the festival, held since 2005, is a competition for video works, animations, experiments, documentaries and short fictional films, for young artists under 35 years old. Each edition emphasizes different artistic and social issues. The goal of the event is to create a platform for discussion between artists, to show the current state of film art, and to encourage reflection on the world and its problems. The final of the competition takes place every year in the second half of April.

 

Concerts in the IN PROGRESS series – a series of encounters with contemporary music, with musical activities often combined with performance, dance, film projections and audio-visual art. A cyclical event, held every two months. We assume eight meetings will be conducted per year.

 

Artistic cinema in the PARAKINO series – a series of meetings with renowned artists and curators engaged in video art and experimental film. When creating the program we also include documentaries presenting the profiles of famous artists, by the same token wishing to give the fullest picture of phenomena occurring in the world, not only in the context of film and video.

 

KinoPort study cinema –  in addition to the regular study repertoire at KinoPort, viewers can see classics of world cinema, as well as participate in educational projects, reviews, and festival replicas with invited guests. The cinema presents a wide selection of European cinema, with particular emphasis on the production of Polish and American independent cinema.

 

Educational programs:

 

Dolne Miasto. In the Centre and Nowy Port. In the Centre – these are projects implemented as part of the renewal of the Dolne Miasto and Nowy Port districts. The main goal of the CCA LAZNIA education department is the social revitalization of the districts in which our facilities are located. Through systematic, grass-roots work, we are increasingly acquiring trust among residents. An important part of the program in the coming years will be the organization of workshops for people of all ages, including for children and youngsters as well as adults and seniors.

 

Creativity Centre – creativity is the main slogan of this undertaking. Neglected districts of Gdańsk (Dolne Miasto and Nowy Port), where the project is conducted, have been transformed into a space for cultural education open to all ages and social groups. Intergenerational and inter-environmental integration is one of many elements of the project developing social capital in those districts. The basic objective of a coherent workshop program – of an open and non-commercial nature - is to stimulate creativity and enhance artistic competences, which are developed owing to unconventional artistic solutions and modern technologies.

 

Art Lessons – this is one of the core elements of our educational activities. We invite school and pre-school groups from Gdańsk schools and kindergartens to participate in classes. During Art Lessons, the groups visit the current exhibition and then participate in art classes inspired by its subject matter. Workshops are adapted to the participants' age group. As part of a separate cycle titled Art Lessons on Demand, we run classes during breaks in between exhibitions or at the special request of teachers.

 

Accesibility – our program assumes increasing participation in cultural events by people with disabilities. Since 2016, we have conducted a model project aimed at people with vision impairment, Hear a Picture, as part of which we conduct guided tours of exhibitions with live audio descriptions during opening days; Accessible Bathhouse assists individuals with vision and hearing impairments.

 

LKW Gallery vacation workshop series (part of the City of Gdańsk Outdoor Gallery) for children from Dolne Miasto.

 

Art Tuesday and Art Friday – an open educational space for children developed in Dolne Miasto and Nowy Port.

 

We Animate Gdańsk film animation workshop – workshops, film reviews and meetings with artists for children, youngsters, and also for people professionally involved in animation. Classes in the film studio show young people how to transform from passive multimedia recipients into creative filmmakers, and experienced animators are presented with the latest in animation programs and techniques