Collateral Event:
Painting Workshop
The Looted installation has included painting workshops in various venues, such as Krakow and San Francisco. The local community was invited to engage with the creative process by repainting one of the missing works. Led by the artists behind the installation, these workshops transform gallery spaces into temporary art studios. Participants are guided through creating paintings inspired by the looted artworks featured in the exhibit, fostering a hands-on connection to the project’s themes of memory, loss, and artistic reclamation while responding to the unique history of each venue.
The act of repainting enlivens these lost works, transforming them from static records into active, living pieces. Workshop participants reanimate the works through painting, bridging the gap between the past and the present. At the conclusion of the workshop, participants could take their artworks home or display them outside in a public space with a card conveying that the painting was free to take. The intention of the workshop was to invite viewers to become cultural agents, joining the collective cycle of creation.
Collateral Event:
Spoken-Word Performance
At various venues, Looted has incorporated performances that add a powerful spoken-word dimension to the installation. For example, in Krakow, Małgorzata Białek recited the titles, dates, and artists of the 56 looted and recreated artworks from the installation, drawing on the format of a roll call or obituary notice. This performance created a meditative space, encouraging the audience to reflect on the systematic losses of wartime and the relationship between art and political history, enriching the visual experience with a contemplative narrative layer.
Małgorzata Białek recited the titles and artists of the 56 looted and recreated artworks on display in the three-channel video installation.