Offensive Dialogue

Dialogue Offensive is a three-day mini-festival organized by ArtSpeech, an organization of artists from around the world based in Boston, USA, in partnership with the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Wrocław, the Kosałka Gallery, the Grotowski Institute in Wrocław and Jarosław Słomski (who is preparing the program at the Hutmen Studio in Wrocław).

The event is curated and organized by ArtSpeech members J.Sal from Lowell MA and Tomasz Opania from Wrocław. The festival is a continuation of the collaboration between artists from Wrocław and ArtSpeech following last year's "And Now We Fall Horizontally" festival, during which artists from Wrocław presented their work at the Midway Gallery in Boston.

The idea: We live amidst a storm of reactionary forces. Forces that divide us into groups, leaving us frustrated, distrustful, and reluctant to engage with those with whom we are told we disagree. In this reality, where everyone is withdrawn and dialogue is discouraged, we propose:

A Dialogue Offensive!!!

Works of art created through collaboration between Polish and American artists, aimed at engaging audiences in conversation about issues that affect us all.

Artists from the ArtSpeech organization will come to Wrocław for a few days this summer to collaborate with artists who visited Boston with an exhibition last year, generating works that will engage residents and encourage conversations that connect people in dialogue. Our mission is not to promote a single point of view or a "right answer," but to help find creative and constructive ways to exchange ideas on issues that truly concern us.

The project will feature a seven-person team of artists from the ArtSpeech organization:

• Rocio Boliver, Petra Daňková, Milan Kohout, Filomena, Tomasz Opania, Katya Popova, J. Sal, and Polish and international artists associated with the Wrocław art scene: Maria Bitka, Chrisss Costa, Hubert Czerepok, Marcin Derda, Vassiliy Dergachyov, Jerzy Kosałka, Michał Kowalczys, Magnolie Studio (Karolina Domańska and Lizzy Lizzy), Marcin Mierzicki, Leila Mosavi, Jarosław Słomski, Sam Stevens, Weronika Trojańska, Aleksandra Wałaszek, Krzysztof Wałaszek, Ewa Zarzycka & Jagoda Opania.

Programme:

• On Friday, September 5th, at 5:00 PM, we will begin with a series of performances in the Grotowski Laboratory hall (Rocio Boliver, Milan Kohout, Jarosław Słomski, Tomasz Opania, Weronika Trojańska, Ewa Zarzycka & Jagoda Opania).

• That same evening, at 8:30 PM, the exhibition opening will take place at the U Kosałki Gallery, where viewers will be able to see video, mixed media, and object works.

• On Saturday, September 6th, we will invite the public to a guided tour of the exhibition at the U Kosałki Gallery.

• On Sunday, September 7th, at 5:00 PM, at the conclusion of the Festival, a multi-hour culinary performance will take place at the Hutmen Studio, an evening of poetry,  readings, performances, recitals, and musical improvisations. The event will culminate in a culinary installation prepared by Magnolie Studio (Karolina Domańska and Lizzy Lizzy). The event will feature the work of Maria Bitka, Rocio Boliver, Petra Daňková, Milan Kohout, Filomena, Jerzy Kosałka, Michał Kowalczys, Tomasz Opania, J.Sal, Vassiliy Dergachyov and others.