7 June 2013, 3 pm – 7 pm
8 June 2013, 4 pm – 7 pm

What role do artists play in urban space, and what role would they like to play? What actual impact do art activities have on the city and its residents? How is the dialogue with local people conducted – what promotional tools and what language do festival organisers use in public space? How does the production of art combine with the marketing strategies of cities?

Good Violence. Art Festivals in Public Space is an open public debate, with the participation of art professionals, on art strategies and the way that contemporary art actually functions in public space. This is an encounter with artists and those professionally involved in placing within public space actions that are part of contemporary art. Presentations of the most significant public art events in Poland will provide the starting point for a discussion on artists’ and art producers’ hidden agendas, the politics of urban space, issues implicated in participation – a frequently fetishised form of contact with the audience and the festivalisation of the cultural life in the cities. This is a one-off event for Poland, launched by ArtBoom Festival in collaboration with Artloop in Sopot – a platform for curators, organisers and managers who prepare and implement art initiatives in public space. Artists working in public space and organisers of some of the most significant festivals of art in public space as well as city councillors and local politicians will take part in the discussion.

The title of the debate comes from the book Dziura w całym. Wstęp do miejskich rewolucji [Fixing What Ain’t Broken: Introduction to Urban Revolutions] by the architect and urban designer Krzysztof Nawratek, lecturer at the School of Architecure, Design and Environment in Plymouth and an honorary guest.

Led by: Bogna Świątkowska, Krzysztof Nawratek

Participants in the debate:
Michał Bieniek – Festiwal Survival,  Wrocław
Marta Skowrońska  - Warszawa w budowie, Warsaw
Michał Mioduszewski – Park Rzeźby na Bródnie, Warsaw
Lena Dula, Emilia Orzechowska -  Artloop,  Sopot
Aleksandra Szymańska  - Festiwal Narracje Gdańsk
Aleksandra Wasilkowska - Europejska Stolica Kultury Wrocław
Anna Hora, Dawid Nickel – Instytut Kultury Katowice – Miasto Ogrodów
Joanna Stembala - biennale OUT OF STH, Wrocław
Antoni Burzyński - Fundacja Sztuki Współczesnej In Situ, Festiwal Sztuki Efemerycznej in Sokołowsk