This year, the International Festival “In the Footsteps of Singer” visited fifteen cities and towns in the Lublin region. The event evokes the Jewish heritage of the town immortalized by the Nobel award-winning writer in his short stories. It also creates opportunities for building bonds and deepening relationships with other communities based on cultural activities and common historical heritage.
Since 2011, in mid-July, the Festival travels from city to city. Through artistic activities, it evokes memories, teaches, and entertains. The first city on route of this year’s edition was Łęczna. Then the artists visited Lubartów, Bychawa, Piaski, Chełm, Krasnystaw, Goraj, Stary Dzików, Biłgoraj, Kraśnik, Józefów, Szczebrzeszyn, Janów Lubelski, Krasnobród. The festival ended on July 25 in Lublin.
The organizers invited the audience to a joint performative reading of the book “The Magician of Lublin”, led by Witold Dąbrowski. This novel and the personal memories of Izaak Bashevis Singer were also an inspiration for an outdoor theatre performance directed by Arkadiusz Ziętek, and performed by the ensemble made of artists from Argentina, Croatia, Ukraine, and Poland. The show combines music and elements of dance, juggling, hula-hoop, fire show, circus, and clowns.
The participants watched documentary films: “The Bevel of Light” and “Reading Sienkiewicz in the Negev Desert”. The protagonist of the second picture is Alex Danzig, born and raised in Poland, who emigrated with his parents to Israel in 1959. The film tells the story of Alex’s mission, which was to introduce Polish culture and history to the young generation of Israelis. In October 2023, he was kidnapped, along with a group of other residents of Kibbutz Nir Oz, by Hamas fighters. In recent days, information about his death has been confirmed.
The organizer of the International Festival “In the Footsteps of Singer” is the “Grodzka Gate – NN Theatre” Center in Lublin. The event is created in cooperation with local governments and cultural institutions.
