Collateral Event:
Painting Workshop, Kraków, Poland
The local community was invited to partake in a painting workshop led by the painters of Looted in the Galeria Podbrzezie, which was itself a former arts and craft school. This was both to respond to the history of the site and to engage viewers in the creative process. The gallery space was transformed into a temporary art studio in which the artists guided participants through the process of making a painting from the looted artworks featured in the installation as a reference.
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:
Performance by Małgorzata Białek
Kraków, Poland (May 28, 2023)
In a happening at the Galeria Podbrzezie, Małgorzata Białek recited the titles and artists of the 56 looted and recreated artworks on display in the three-channel video installation. The recitation of titles, dates, and artists drew upon the format of a roll call or obituary notice. This spoken word performance added another dimension to the visual project by creating a meditative space for reflecting on each looted artwork. It prompted listeners to contemplate the arbitrary and systematic losses of wartime and the intertwining of art with political history.
Małgorzata Białek recited the titles and artists of the 56 looted and recreated artworks on display in the three-channel video installation.