Julia Stachura: We are in the Provincial Public Library and Center for Cultural Animation in Poznan. At first glance, I would not associate this place with photography, and as it turns out, it plays a special role here. Tell us something about yourself, what is your artistic background and what paths led you to the photography department?
Matthew Kiszka: I studied photography at the Academy of Fine Arts (now the Magdalena Abakanowicz University of Arts in Poznan, hereafter UAP - note J.S.), I did my bachelor's and master's there. I have always been close to the photographic document, subjective and telling about places, but processed through my own experiences and emotions. During my art education I was inspired by the school of American photography - Stephen Shore, William Eggleston, Robert Frank, Garry Winogrand - moving within the boundaries of documentary. Some time after graduation, I was contacted by Piotr Chojnacki, with whom I did my diploma, and connected me with Wladyslaw Nielipinski of RPLCAK, head of the photography department, who was then looking for someone for the position of animator for photography. The organizational side was close to me, so in 2016 I started working in the library's photo department.
Ola Polerowicz: I am the youngest employee and found myself here actually by accident. I learned about the opportunity to work at the library last fall and joined the team in November. I'm not a photography graduate, but I have a degree in art at UAP - interior design, sculpture and spatial action, and curating. These are things that have shaped me, as well as the activities in the collective 1a (2011-2016) on St. Adalbert. I also co-founded Sandra Gallery for a year and a half, as one of the curators. I have been working at the intersection of activism and culture for a long time, so working at the library is, in a way, another step for me in the cultural environment.
Tobiasz Jankowiak: My cultural background began in high school with Jaroslaw Klups and darkroom-photography classes at SOWA, co-taught with Janusz Oleksa. Later I studied photography at UAP, did not complete my master's degree, dropped out a month before graduation. At the same time, I worked in the photography lab at the faculty. Working with and for people jarred me, but at the same time it was terribly tiring for various reasons. In 2017 I moved to the National Museum in Poznan, there I found a job in the inventory department, where on the one hand I flipped files for three years, and on the other hand I participated in the process of digital mapping of works of art (with Slawomir Obst). It was interesting work, but tedious. After two years I was dreaming of numbers. Later came the pandemic and I was contacted by Matthew for a job....
M.K.: I got back to you because together with Pavel Wawrzyniak we started doing Errora (a competition organized by WPPiCAK - note J.S.) at the beginning of the year and we were looking for a connection with UAP.
T.J: Yes, right. Later I made a job offer to the library, but at first I did not associate it with the photo department that Matthew ran. However, it turned out that it was about "that" department and I have been working here for a year.
J.S: And for the past six months you have been working in the trójkę?
M.K.: Yes. It was also combined with the retirement of Wladyslaw (Nielipinski - note J.S.). We wanted to build a new team. When recruiting, we wanted them to be young people, experienced in organizational work, with whom we could do cool and creative things.
J.S.: The photo department is an important part of RPLCAK. How would you define your goals and the direction in which you wouldówhich you are heading as a team?
M.K.: Vladislav (Nielipinski - note J.S.) gave a specific direction, oriented mainly to amateurs and photography enthusiasts. Many things happened in cycles, with a particular event repeated every year. The three of us, Ola and Tobiasz, undertook to reformat and refresh this formula. We are still developing some initiatives that already have a tradition in RPLCAK, but we are trying to reach out to different audiences and diversify the program.
T.J.: Thinking in terms of age categories, we recently decided that our target audience would be very young people. Which is not to say that we have abandoned this amateur-passionate zone. All the time we are busy bonding Wielkopolska in a photographic way, putting people in touch with each other, but as a team we are most focused on events and action.
O.P.: This photographic network in Greater Poland, which was started by Wladek (Nielipinski - note J.S.) still exists and we are strongly building on it, while trying to translate this into new and fresher cultural activities. We are also keen to be in places outside of Poznań and support the artists there, but still do it on our terms. Thinking about high school students, we organize competitions such as filter: _RESET and exhibition Occupation. We can see that there is a demand for this, as photography institutions rarely open up space for activities just for this group....
M.K.: If anything, there are workshops or games with photography, while we want to give these young people a chance to start showing their artwork.
J.S.: And on top of that, you are trying to develop a discussion about culture....
T.J.: For example, we run the Open Studio of Photography, in which issues of theoretical reflection and collective education play a big role. It is a series of meetings in which we are keen to democratize the conversation about photography. So far, we have invited, among others, theorists, anthropologists, teachers and teachers of photography, people in various ways connected with the medium. As part of the Studio, we also did portfolio reviews. Usually this took place in the gallery space of RPLCAK, which gave us the opportunity for a free discussion of the works on display at the time, as well as the opportunity to meet with curators and artists.
O.P.: Often photography was a reason to talk about other things. Such as the meeting with Michal Sita and the people behind the Eagle and Cross historical show project, who had the opportunity to talk about their experiences with the show.
M.K.: Photography is simply an excuse for us to talk, to tell stories, to meet.
O.P.: We often think about what photography is in spaces other than a gallery or museum. We have a plan to invite to our podcast people for whom photography is part of the job, but from a completely different perspective, such as medical technicians, police technicians, or astronomers.
J.S.: These excursions from photography to the wider visual also translate into the recent kr festival.óof experimental film forms BASE (29-30.04.2022). Tell us about this event.
M.K.: The film competition already had its tradition in RPLCAK, then it was called Greater Poland PoróFilm Recognitions. Workshop! We have moved away from this formula in favor of building something from scratch. This is the first such initiative of the three of us. We also invited Wojtek Ulman and Patryk Różycki to join us, and together we managed to create an event that was primarily an opportunity to meet, get to know young and new artists.
T.J.: One must add to this the many hours of discussions, which were mainly due to Patrick, who led the panels in an even, democratic, opening way on various interesting topics. There was a lot of crying, there was laughter, it was a very emotional experience. We also organized a portfolio review, which in practice took the form of an open circle - it was more an opportunity for conversation than rigid evaluation of young artists.
O.P.: Also, the place we chose - Holy Tranquility - has a very open character and was conducive to integration.
M.K.: We were very surprised by the response. At the open call to BASES nearly 270 films came in.
J.S.: How did the selection process take place?
T.J.: Together with Ola and Matthew, we had one vote, Patrick and Wojtek another two, and in the end we chose 18 films.
J.S.: Staying on the topic of location, you are located in the heart of Jeżyce, a neighborhood in which theórej on the one hand many artists work and live, on the other there is nowhere to carry out their projectsóIn the immediate vicinity. How would you define your place on the cultural map of Poznan?
T.J.: As a center for cultural animation, we feel that we are between different communities and institutions without necessarily belonging to them. It is first and foremost a place for meetings and activities, and we focus on people rather unprofessionally connected with culture and art. We combine entertainment, hobbies and pleasure with substantive discussion, but on a human level. We don't play with any hierarchies.
M.K.: We are constantly forging our identity and trying different forms of exposure, competitions, festivals. In time we will probably give it some style, rhythm and tone. For now it is a field of experimentation.
T.J.: Thanks to Matthew, there is not this structure and hierarchy, we constantly discuss with each other "how to do it". This is my best experience working in culture so far.
O.P.: The fact that we are part of something bigger gives us a foothold and security. At the same time, we retain our separateness and freedom to act.
J.S.: Wln fact, it was only thanks to your activities that I found out that there are some cultural events in RPLCAK and I started visiting the place.
O.P.: I, despite the fact that I am a cognoscenti, also did not know about this place before. Because of the fact that we are part of an institution that is primarily a library, the photo department was not easily recognizable.
J.S.: Your activities are not limited to Poznań, you travel all over Greater Poland, right?
T.J.: Yes, we were recently in Gniezno and in Wągrowiec. One of the events was related to the post-competition exhibition of the Wielkopolska Press Photo (organized by RPLCAK - note J.S.). This, on the one hand, is part of our duties, but it also gives us pleasure - on occasion we visit these localities and visit various people from clubs and institutions in the province. We are at the stage of getting acquainted with everyone, establishing relationships based on trust with our young team. After Wladyslaw (Nielipinski - note J.S.), a kind of generation gap was created.
M.K.: These trips have always been an important part of the work in the photo department. Whenever there is something going on, there is an opening, we go there. This way we maintain contacts and remind people of our activities. We also invite these people to visit us and connect different smaller communities. For organizers from small cultural centers, it's important that someone from Poznan, from VPIAC, came.
T.J.: This was summed up well by one lady in Wągrowiec, saying to another: "this one, the headquarters has arrived"! (laughter)
M.K.: We hope that now, due to the loosening of restrictions, there will be even more of these trips.
J.S.: Another opportunity to meet in a wider circle will also be the Wielkopolska Festival of Photography, whichóry will be held this fall. This event is a long-standing tradition, the first time under your care. What are you planning?
M.K.: Earlier editions were characterized by a "rush," collecting proposals and projects from various institutions, photography clubs or photography enthusiasts. In 2018, I proposed that the festival be divided into a regional program, where institutions would still be able to realize their stuff, and a main program, where exhibitions would be opened, which we would be the ones to oversee. This year we are proposing four exhibitions in Poznań under the common theme of Interior landscapes.
J.S.: What does this concept mean to you?
M.K.: This slogan has been following me since the pandemic. Modern photography rarely uses found situations and goes more inward, to emotions, to memory.
O.P.: I'm also thinking in this context about the internal landscape of Greater Poland, the context of our region. As a result of the pandemic and climate crisis, we are turning more and more to locality, exploration of our immediate surroundings and experiences. I like this slogan a lot by the fact that it also refers to invisibility, to the unseen.
T.J.: I associate interior landscapes with another slogan we came up with for the open call - Playground. For me it's fyrtles, backyards, townhouses, tinkering, playing, building. It's a very opening slogan, allowing you to express your inner world.
J.S.: In addition to the exhibitions, are you planning any side events?
T.J.: Among others, the aforementioned Playground, for which we are collecting proposals until the end of June. It is addressed to everyone - these can be well-drawn ideas, finished works in any medium, even performance.
M.K.: This year we also want to put a strong emphasis on education. We are organizing a theoretical and practical seminar, led by Kamila Kobierzynska and Julia Stachura.
T.J.: We have also invited various non-environmentalists to join the regional program. We are still collecting various proposals from smaller and larger centers in Greater Poland. We look forward to hearing from you!
WBPiCAK website: https://www.wbp.poznan.pl/fotografia
Facebook of RPLCAK photo department: https://www.facebook.com/fotografiaWBPiCAK
Instagram: @fotowbpicak and @baza.festival
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/42gWm4813fHaTmnlHMuo1z
Julia Stachura, 2022
