Exhibition opening / 15.11.2023, at 18:00 / Exhibition duration / 16.11.2023 - 31.03.2024
Wanda Rutkiewicz disappeared 31 years ago on the world's third-highest mountain, located in far eastern Nepal, Kanchendzonga. For 30 years, Wanda's home archive remained hidden. At first, the collection of photos, negatives and slides was cared for and taken care of by Wanda's brother, Michal Blaszkiewicz. After his death, thanks to the help of Wanda's sister, Janina Fies, the archive was kept by filmmakers (led by director Justyna Tafel), who are working on a feature film about Rutkiewicz. However, it was not until they worked on a documentary film about the outstanding Himalayan, directed by Eliza Kubarska, that the material was digitized.
The exhibition will feature unpublished photographs by Wanda Rutkiewicz, who was not only a pioneer of women's Himalayan mountaineering in Poland, but also a great photographer and filmmaker. The photographic material was taken by Wanda from the beginning of her expeditions, including from the conquest of Everest in 1978.
These are private photographs, taken for her own use, of landscapes, often showing the variability of conditions in the high mountains - blizzards, avalanches, snowstorms. Her photographs on display at the Silesian Museum perfectly reflect the sensitivity, colors and beauty of the places she climbed.
In addition to the photos, which she presented for the first time Dr. Katarzyna Gębarowska During the Vintage Photo Festival - the International Festival of Analog Photography Enthusiasts in 2022 in Bydgoszcz, the exhibition will also feature memorabilia and items related to Wanda, as well as a short audiovisual documentary that is being made especially for the Museum Eliza Kubarska. During the meeting with the director, we will learn about her work on documentary mountain films. Many of Eliza Kubarska's pictures have been recognized in international film competitions, and the author herself is the winner of the prestigious Alliance for Mountain Film Grand Prize 2023 - an international award given to mountain filmmakers for their exceptional contribution to the history of mountain cinema.
Thanks to invited guests and exhibition partners, the exhibition has been complemented with interesting meetings, lectures, as well as theater and film screenings. Among the planned events is a meeting with Bartek Bargiel, who, as a photographer, filmmaker, and drone operator, accompanied his brother Andrew Bargiel on the first-ever ski descent from an eight-thousander.
Tatra National Park as part of its partnership activities, will prepare an offer for children during the winter holidays. Educators will conduct classes, during which the youngest will learn how to prepare for a mountain trip, how to protect the Tatra Mountains and take care of the extraordinary nature of the Tatras.
At a meeting with Janek Krzysztofem The biggest difference is that technology and the internet has speeded everything up tremendously in just a few years. We take the instant transmission of photos and text for granted. As a photojournalist for 60 years, I well recall a different time when I would send packages of undeveloped rolls of film with hand written captions to editors all across the world. DHL and FedEx were vital for my international work, even the regular mail system on occasion. Then digital cameras and the internet came along, changing everything, and a lot more time had to be spent at the computer. Newspapers were the first to take advantage of the technology as they require a quick turnaround for news stories and photo quality was less demanding. It took longer for color magazines to adapt, the sort I worked with, who had to wait until digital photography improved. Online media didn't exist at all until relatively recently but it certainly didn't kill print media, as some predicted. Head of TOPR - We will learn how to assess the risks of going into the mountains, and Janusz Borowiec -creator of the Gdansk brand Majesty - He will talk about the eco-responsibility and eco-manifesto behind the brand, which is a leader in the production of freeride skis and the organizer of the contest Skis Re//Defined. The purpose of the competition is to promote the idea of upcycling, i.e. giving a second life to used skis, so that the product is no more valuable than the raw materials used in its production. Participants in the competition, by presenting their ideas in the field of applied design, contribute to reducing the consumption of natural resources and reducing waste as much as possible. During the exhibition "Looking Down. The Wada Rutkiewicz Archive" will also feature ten post-competition objects that have won awards and honorable mentions in the past two editions of Skis Re//Defined, in addition to the cash registers at the Silesian Museum.
Pajak, a family-owned company from Bielsko-Biała, which received this year's main prize in the product category of the Silesian Thing competition for its Radical 16H sleeping bag (courtesy of the Pajak company, the sleeping bag will be donated to the collection of the Silesian Museum in Katowice), will prepare limited edition T-shirts with a unique photo from the exhibition for visitors (the T-shirts will be available in the museum store). During the three meetings with Wojtek Klapcia, a specialist in industrial design and the use of down in Pajak, we will talk about new trends and technologies in industrial design in the outdoor industry and how these activities and actions affect the environment. Meeting participants will be able to try their hand at a sleeping bag packing competition on time, and there will be prizes in kind from our partner waiting for those who score the best.
The Silesian Museum will also host a guest screenings of the monodrama "Wanda" by the Polish Theater in Bielsko-Biała, directed by Maria Sadowska and Joanna Grabowiecka. The play, which premiered in 2017 and is still being performed today, was created with the idea of adaptation and the possibility of playing on the boards of various theaters and at event venues. So far, it has been possible to present the monodrama with the sensational role of Anita Janci-Prokopowicz, who plays the character of Wanda Rutkiewicz, only at the PTTK Pasterka Hostel, in the heart of the Table Mountain National Park, and at the Witkacy Theater in Zakopane. There will also be curatorial tours. The full program of events can be found below.
Special thanks to Ms. Janina Fies, sister of Wanda Rutkiewicz, for providing photos from her archive.
Curators: Dr. Katarzyna Gębarowska, Beata Lisicka
Cooperation: Eliza Kubarska
The exhibition's partners are:
Museum of Sport and Tourism in Warsaw Tatra Mountains National ParkPolish Mountaineering Association Polish Theatre in Bielsko-BialaPajakFoundation Great Man
PROGRAM OF ACCOMPANYING EVENTS
15.11.2023 - 31.03.2024 - Majesty Skis Re//Defined: presentation of post-competition objects.
/ Space of the Silesian Museum
16.11.2023 - Dr. Katarzyna Gębarowska: Curatorial tour.
/ Hour 17:30
21.11.2023 - Bartek Bargiel - About photography and video productions on high mountain expeditions.
/ Level -3, Room A, 6:30 pm. / Meeting translated into PJM.
24.11.2023 - Beata Lisicka - Curatorial tour.
/ Hour 17:30
13.12.2023 - Theater in the museum: Monodrama "Wanda" by the Polish Theater in Bielsko-Biala - directed by Maria Sadowska, Joanna Grabowiecka.
/ Level -4, Auditorium, 7:00 pm
14.12.2023 - Theater in the museum: Monodrama "Wanda" by the Polish Theater in Bielsko-Biala - directed by Maria Sadowska, Joanna Grabowiecka.
/ Level -4, Auditorium, 7:00 pm
29.01 - 11.02.2024 - Holidays with the Tatra National Park (offer for children).
16.01.2024 - Wojciech Klapcia, Pajak: New technologies in the outdoor industry.
/ Level -4, Auditorium, 6:30 p.m. / Meeting translated into PJM.
23.01.2024 - Wojciech Klapcia, Pajak: Contemporary industrial design in the outdoor industry.
/ Level -4, Auditorium, 6:30 p.m. / Meeting translated into PJM.
30.01.2024 - Wojciech Klapcia, Pajak: Environmental impact of outdoor production and operations.
/ Level -4, Auditorium, 6:30 p.m. / Meeting translated into PJM.
20.02.2024 - Janusz Borowiec, Majesty: On eco-responsibility in the production of mountain hiking equipment. A case study of the Skis Re//Defined competition.
/ Level -4, Auditorium, 6:30 p.m. / Meeting translated into PJM.
27.02.2024 - Jan Krzysztof, Tatra Voluntary Rescue Service: risk assessment in the mountains - let's start with the Tatras.
/ Level -4, Auditorium, 6:30 p.m. / Meeting translated into PJM.
5.03.2024 - Eliza Kubarska: On working on mountain documentaries.
/ Level -3, Room C, 6:30 pm
22.03.2024 - Dr. Katarzyna Gębarowska: On landscape photography of women.
/ Level -3, Room C, 6:30 pm
Dr. Katarzyna Gębarowska - co-curator of the exhibition "A look from above. The Wanda Rutkiewicz Archive." Enthusiast of old photographs, researcher of the history of photography, curator of photographic exhibitions, book publisher, photographer. Curator of the exhibition entitled. "Eros and Tanatos. Bydgoszcz pioneers of professional photography in Bydgoszcz 1888-1945". Co-author of the books "Foton women" (2018) and "Occupation: photographer" (2019), honored in the PTWK Most Beautiful Books of the Year 2019 competition. Winner of the second prize in the CAS " competition.Discover your archive" Scholarship holder of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Marshal of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Mayor of the City of Bydgoszcz. Owner of Gallery "Photographer" in Bydgoszcz. Since 2015, director of Vintage Photo Festival - International Festival of Analog Photography Lovers.
Eliza Kubarska - author of the film presented at the exhibition "A look from above. Wanda Rutkiewicz Archive", mountaineer, traveler, artist, director. Graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (Faculty of Sculpture and Multimedia Studio of Prof. G. Kowalski), Wajda School in Warsaw and High School of Fine Arts in Lodz. Scholarship holder of the Ministry of Culture and Art. Author of internationally awarded documentaries. She made her debut in 2010 with the picture "What happened on the island of Pam". Film "Badjao. Spirits from the Sea" (for ARTE/ZDF) shot on the seas and underwater around Borneo (winner of the Jury Prize at the prestigious Hot Docs festival in Canada, among others). "K2. To Touch the Sky" (HBO) - winner of more than 20 international awards. Her latest film "Wall of Shadows" became the most awarded Polish film on the subject of mountains (more than 30 international awards). Eliza is currently working on a feature-length documentary about Wanda Rutkiewicz. As a mountaineer, in a team with her husband David Kaszlikowski, she has completed more than a dozen expeditions, including to Greenland, Karakorum, High Atlas, Mali or the tropical jungles of Malaysia or the desert mountains of Jordan. Author of special cinematography (mountain and underwater expeditions). Founder of Vertical Vision Film Studio (since 2008). Winner of Alliance for Mountain Film Grand Prize 2023 - an international award given to mountain filmmakers for exceptional contributions to the history of mountain cinema. Eliza is the first woman among the previous winners.
Beata Lisicka - curator of the exhibition "A look from above. Wanda Rutkiewicz Archive", graduate of history at Silesian University in Katowice and museology at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, head of the History Department of the Silesian Museum in Katowice. Curator and co-author of museum exhibitions, museologist, historian, author of the project "Wojciech Korfanty. Silesian, Pole, European", coordinator of scientific conferences including two editions of "Industria. Contexts not obvious", cultural events (Puce Mary concert), co-author of the program of the first edition of the Industria Biennale, which was held for the first time at the Silesian Museum in Katowice in 2019, a lover of mountain biking, travel, history in particular the Vietnam War in 1964-1973.