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The Fresh Milk Art Platform (Barbados) and the Centre for Culture in Lublin (Poland) as part of Lublin’s bid for the European Capital of Culture 2029 title are pleased to welcome submissions of recent film and video works – screenings, installations, new media, time-based media and expanded cinema – by contemporary artists, to be included in the fifth edition of Transoceanic Visual Exchange (TVE), a series of programmes taking place this year between Barbados and Poland, with an accompanying online exhibition.

Submitted works must have been completed in the last five years and must be made by artists practicing in the Caribbean, Poland, Ukraine and their diasporas.

TVE 5 will be a collection of recent artists’ films and videos from each region. However, the final shape and content of the programme will be informed by a community curatorial process, which aims to involve and promote discussion within the wider creative communities of each participating initiative.

Working between the Caribbean, Poland and Ukraine, TVE 5 aims to negotiate the in-between space of our cultural communities outside of traditional geo-political zones of encounter and trade. TVE intends to build relations and open up greater pathways of visibility, discourse and knowledge production between the regional art spaces and their publics.

Submission Requirements:
• Must be work from artists practicing in the Caribbean, Ukraine, Poland or their diasporas;
• Must be work that has been completed/made in the last five years;
• Can be films of any length (shorts, experimental, features and video artworks);
• Can be in any language (films originally produced in regional languages are welcome);
• Up to 3 submissions per applicant are welcome;
• Must be accompanied by a description of the work (500 words max), a bio (200 words max) and details of any technical requirements i.e. audio, installation, equipment required, preferred setting etc.;
• Works must be mp4 files no larger than 100MB, or Vimeo/Youtube links with passwords if applicable;
• Works must not have been submitted to the previous edition of TVE;
• Please specify whether your submitted works have permission to be exhibited on an online space.
Selection Process:
One of the core values of TVE is the model of community curatorial practice as opposed to one of solely contracting curators or hiring a jury to review submissions in isolation. This has taken the shape of open roundtable conversations with interested members of the community in each partner’s country/region, where current trends, concerns and interests in the areas of video art, film and new media are discussed. After these conversations, the partners will convene to select works which align with and reflect the research gathered, including the community’s input in the design of the final programme.

What TVE 5 Offers:
• Each selected artist will receive a stipend of $250.00 USD for their participation in the programme;
• Artists’ work will be showcased in a series of events in Barbados and Poland and a virtual exhibition on the TVE website, facilitated and promoted by the TVE partners;
• The artists’ profiles will be permanently housed on the TVE website, and their work will be widely promoted throughout Fresh Milk’s and the Centre for Culture in Lublin’s networks in the Caribbean and Eastern Europe;
• The artists will have the opportunity to grow their own networks and knowledge regarding video arts and filmmaking practices across the Caribbean, Poland and Ukraine, deepening understanding between the regions and opening up greater possibilities of collaboration.

Deadline for submissions: June 30th 2024

Important dates:
• Start of application period: Tuesday May 14th, 2024
• End of application period: Sunday June 30th, 2024
• Community of curatorial practice workshops: July/August, 2024
• Public announcement of results: September, 2024
• Polish Screenings: September, 2024
• Caribbean Screenings: November, 2024
• Online Exhibition: December, 2024

Click here for the online form for Caribbean submissions
Click here for the online form for Polish submissions
Click here for the online form for Ukrainian submissions

For more information on TVE and its first four iterations, visit the website transoceanicvisualexchange.com.

This edition of TVE is also supported in part by TEOR/éTica, our partner organisation for TVE 4, from whom we received a 2023 Catalyst Grant with the generous support of Arts Collaboratory, and by a grant received from the Mellon Foundation.

About the Partners:
Fresh Milk
Fresh Milk is an artist-led, non-profit organisation founded in 2011 and based in Barbados. It is a platform which supports excellence in the visual arts through residencies and programmes that provide Caribbean artists with opportunities for development, fostering a thriving art community.
Fresh Milk offers professional support to artists from the Caribbean and further afield and seeks to stimulate critical thinking in contemporary visual art. Its goal is to nurture artists, raise regional awareness about contemporary arts and provide Caribbean artists with opportunities for growth, excellence and success.

The Centre for Culture in Lublin
At the Centre for Culture, our “home of imagination” we want to manage human talents wisely and create favourable conditions for artistic work, education and presentation of art and artistic activities. We want to be open to new people, new projects and phenomena. We believe that we will have the courage to take creative risks.

Lublin 2029 – European Capital of Culture Candidate City
The project is part of Lublin’s bid for the European Capital of Culture 2029 title. Re:Union, the bid’s motto refers to the historic concept of the Union of Lublin (1569), a commonwealth treaty signed by the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It is understood as reintegration, reconnection of broken ties, cross-generational, cross-cultural and intersectional dialogue.

The Lublin University of Technology and the City of Lublin have signed an agreement on the education of young film makers. Thanks to cooperation with Lublin Film Fund, students of the University’s Multimedia Engineering major will gain experience on various film sets.

Rector of the Lublin University of Technology, Professor Zbigniew Patera, and the Mayor of Lublin, Krzysztof Żuk Ph.D signed the agreement. Cooperation between local government, universities, and the creative sector is significant both in light of the competition for the title of European Capital of Culture 2029, and the implementation of the Lublin 2030 Strategy.

Future filmmakers will work in the creative industry, in audiovisual media, including film, television, and radio. Students can volunteer, or enrol in apprenticeships and internships in film productions carried out in cooperation with the Lublin Film Fund. Participation will be an opportunity to gain valuable experience.
– Lublin University of Technology has experts and access to the latest technologies, in particular when it comes to cybersecurity and new media – emphasizes Rector Zbigniew Pater. – Lublin is an academic, cultural, and entrepreneurial city. Students taking part in numerous activities will appreciate the opportunity provided, and the residents will benefit from the effects of their work.

The Multimedia Engineering major was launched in 2020 and is very popular. After the first two recruitment rounds, the university increased the admission limit. Future engineers learn, among others, to create multimedia applications and presentations, and to make various forms of audio-visual recordings using equipment and tools available in television and radio studios. The infrastructural potential of the pollub.tv studio will be essential for productions carried out in cooperation with the Film Fund. They will include online broadcasts of municipal events, including in the districts, student projects, and cultural and sports events.

– We plan to launch cybersecurity workshops, which will be developed by multimedia engineering students using the latest technologies available in our studio. The workshops will consist of two cycles – the first addressed to the youngest, and the second to seniors, says Jakub Krzysiak from Pollub.tv.

The involvement of students, and the technologies available at the studio allow cooperation on many ongoing projects in the creative sector, including the MATCH project. It aims to introduce students to the local work market and familiarize them with its realities.

An official signing ceremony of the Cultural Union of the Metropolitan Area – a declaration of real and lasting cooperation within the regional network – took place on May 9th, marking the official Europe Day and Lublin’s participation in the European Capital of Culture 2029 competiton.

RE:UNION is the motto that reflects the idea of Lublin’s application for the title of ECoC 2029. The competition application refers to the Union of Lublin, and the memory of the multinational Republic of Poland. Historical perspective is only a starting point. It encourages questions about a new community, and awareness of distinctiveness and uniqueness while acting in the idea of synergy and cooperation, i.e. key values for the European Union. RE:UNION means re-integration, inter-sectoral, inter-generational, and inter-cultural dialogue, and networking with regional and international partners.

By establishing cooperation with cities, communes, and counties of the Lublin metropolitan area, we want to share the ideas of the European Capital of Culture. They will constitute the basis for reflection on a common concept of partnership between cities and communes of eastern Poland, to promote them internationally in the framework of the European Capital of Culture 2029.

The city has announced the results of a new grant competition for children and young adults, “SUper Grants”. Financial support of up to PLN 7.500 was awarded to 25 student councils, covering projects such as “Spece z Magnolika”, “InteGRAciarnia”, and “Wesoły Europeanjczyk”.

– A student council is the first democratic organization where young people can pursue their careers. It serves as a link between all students and the institution of the school. It is also the first place for children to actively participate in social life. Thanks to the “SUper Grants”, student councils in Lublin will be able to support their activities, and thus contribute to decision-making processes concerning school life. It is a valuable lesson in democracy for children and young people – says Mariusz Banach, Deputy Mayor of Lublin for Education.
Most of the winning projects are consistent with the idea of the European Capital of Culture 2029 and refer to the 20th anniversary of Poland’s accession to the European Union, celebrated in May. “SUper Grants” were awarded to 13 projects from primary schools, including “School Student Parliament”, “Reporterska Czternastka – discover, create, communicate. Develop your journalism and broadcasting skills by becoming the voice of your community!” or “European Week: Building Community”. The 12 ideas from secondary schools included the inter-school city game “From the Union of Lublin to the European Union”, “Creative Space in Grabski” and “Play with Elsner – a board game festival against the background of Lublin and the European Union”.
The main objective of the new “SUper Granty” competition is the development and activation of student councils. The project is in line with the Youth Policy of the City of Lublin. The implementation of projects and initiatives by student councils will take place until the end of October.
A list of winning schools is available on this page.

The Riverview Arts Festival aims to present new art trends in city environments, fostering a sense of cultural community, and prompting questions about our role in a rapidly changing world. It aims to combine high artistic quality with experimental art, prioritise environmental awareness, and promote a direct connection with nature.

The festival will showcase contemporary art installations that combine high artistic quality with environmental awareness, and promote a direct connection with nature, wrapping visitors in the sound of the Bystrzyca river.
Ten artists (nine from Poland and one from Ukraine) working in various media will take part in the Festival. They will create site-specific objects, installations, and other works specifically designed for the Festival, working individually or in artistic collectives.
The Workshops of Culture have already announced the first names of artists, whose work will be presented in the picturesque space at the banks of Bystrzyca, between the two historic Marian Lutosławski bridges. Alicja Bielawska is a graduate of art history at the University of Warsaw and fine arts at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. She writes poetry, and creates drawings, sculptures and installations using fabrics, and ceramics. Inga Levi is a graphic designer, mosaic artist, painter, and film artist from Ukraine who also creates installations and interdisciplinary art. They are joined by Aleksandra Liput and Marta Krześlak. Marta Krześlak builds kinetic installations, and site-specific works and records collage videos. She experiments with various materials, often reusing objects from one installation to another, or designing them to change over time. Aleksandra Liput is a visual artist working with ceramics, and textiles, creating objects and installations. In her work, she raises issues related to broadly understood spirituality and magical objects.

The event will commence with a guided tour on June 1st, 2024 at 7:00 pm on the Marian Lutosławski Bridge (also known as the Bridge of Culture) in Lublin. The installations will be available for viewing until October 2024. Attendees have the option to explore independently or join guided tours organized by the Workshops of Culture.
Read more about the Riverview Arts Festival here.

#artbloomsinmay is the motto of the events that will take place in our city from May 9th through 29th. Over this period Lublin, along with 12 European partners and 4 cities participating in the CreArt3.0 project, will build a creative space for artistic activities.

The activities take place as part of the “CreArt 3.0 #stringing_together” project. This is the third edition of the CreArt project, which created a network of cities, and public and private cultural institutions. It aims to support creative activities through the exchange of experiences and good practices. CreArt aids cooperation between artistic communities from different countries and cultural traditions in the development of common methods for audience education. Another goal is the establishment of a permanent, professional system of exchange and cooperation of artists and art curators. The initiative is implemented with financial support from the European Union under the Creative Europe Program. Project partners in the CreArt 3.0 include Venice, Skopje, Kaunas, Ceske Budejovice, and Oulu from Finland.
– Participation in this international project is an opportunity to get to know the creativity of residents, cooperation, and exchange of experiences. More than a dozen European cities and four partner organizations are participating in the project. This is a very valuable experience for us, especially in the context of the European Capital of Culture 2029, where cooperation and networking with other European countries is crucial – says Krzysztof Żuk, Mayor of Lublin.

Lublin’s Month of Creativity programme was divided into five thematic blocks called Cre-ACTIONS.

Cre-ACTION – exhibition, including group exhibition of works by students of the Faculty of Arts of the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University at Lubelskie Zakłady Tytoniowe, former tobaco plant; art exhibition by two artists from Galeria Labirynt (patio of the Józef Czechowicz Literary Museum at Złota street);
Cre-ACTION – theatre: workshops focused on developing skills such as spontaneity, team cooperation, reaction time, and creativity of participants; theatre workshops combined with elements of music and dance, which will focus on learning about being “here and now”.
Cre-ACTION – poetry: the event addressed at young poets will include, among others: poetry slam, performative reading with music and sung poetry concert.
Cre-ACTION – circus showcases the creative potential of the art of the new circus: circus workshops, meetings, a city game, a walk “Of circus and jugglers in Lublin”, the show “Circus Improvisations”, which is a show for the whole family, co-created by the audience.
Cre-ACTION – creative industries, including walks along the craftsmen and creative artists trail, a workshop for representatives of the creative sector improving professional competencies “(non) Handmade designed” and copyright training.

Participation in all events is free, with registration required for some. Visit the website lublin.eu/creart for information about the CreArt 3.0 project, including open calls for artistic residencies in other project partner European cities, and application forms for organized events. Further initiatives within the project will take place in the following months.

Foreigners are Everywhere – Marta Ryczkowska

The 60th Venice Biennale, entitled “Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere” officially opened on April 20th. The International Exhibition, presented at the Arsenale and Giardini venues, is curated by Adriano Pedrosa, the artistic director of Museo de Arte w São Paulo, however the most memorable events of this edition happened in national pavilions. The main theme is built around keywords relating to the major contemporary challenges: not only mass migration caused by armed conflicts, global warming, the climate crisis, and the economic situation but also the consequences of colonization. National pavilions take on perspectives different from their own: they look into the past and reinterpret the history of art (Spain), invite people from other countries to make their voices heard (Poland), speak openly about the exploitation of African communities and their participation in the global production of goods (Netherlands). There is a recurring theme of refugee journeys through plastic-polluted seas (Great Britain, Panama). Europe appears in them as a place of dynamic change, a change that is also happening in the way we talk about Europe. Its myth is subject to sharp revision (Northern Countries, Lebanon).

There is space for protest against wars and marginalized narratives at this Biennale. Ukrainian art is presented at the Polish Pavilion in a moving video installation by the Open group collective from 2022 and 2024, “Repeat After Me” (the first part premiered during the residency at Galeria Labirynt in Lublin). On recordings, refugees recreate the most characteristic sounds of the war that they remember: tanks, bombs, anti-aircraft alarms, and various types of weapons. The simplicity and interactive nature of the work force the recipients to confront the war situation, which is recorded in the body. The Ukrainian Pavilion “Net Making” is a group exhibition of Ukrainian artists, which pointed to the social context of art through a reference to the collective weaving of masking nets. A speech by Olena Zelenska accompanied the opening. One of the accompanying events at the Pinchuk Art Center was a large exhibition of contemporary Ukrainian art “Dare to Dream”. Galeria Labirynt, supported by the City of Lublin, carried out a networking meeting there, which was attended by curators and directors of museums and galleries from both large and small centres in Ukraine (including Lviv, Kyiv, Dnieper, Khmelnytsky). Thanks to the City’s commitment to promoting international dialogue it was possible to juxtapose different perspectives.

Lublin is proud to join the Earth Night initiative launched by DJs For Climate Action, which promotes ecological awareness through musical events. On April 20 join an intergenerational celebration of World Earth Day.

Through music and educational activities Earth Night inspires actions to protect the environment. The initiative focuses on issues related to ecology and encourages taking specific actions for the planet. It is a unique platform integrating a passion for music with care for our planet.
Two dance events will take place to mark the World Earth Day. On April 20, a classic electronic party hosted by Danse Macabre, with performances by: Abyss, Rytmik, virtual geisha, nectar & nectarynka, among others. Sunday’s “Non-school Disco” is for the youngest children and their families. Rytmik, Junior Chill known as Junior Stress, and Lukasz Krzywiec ‘Krzywy’ will take the participants on a musical journey through various sounds. Invited animators will encourage children to dance and have fun together. All in the fairy-tale setting of Danse Macabre!

PROGRAM:
April 20 / Saturday
9.00 pm – Danse Macabre: Abyss; Rhythmics; Virtual Geisha; Nectar & Nectarine; TBA / PLN 40

April 21 / Sunday
4.00 pm – Non-school Disco: Rytmik; Junior Chill aka Junior Stress; Łukasz “Krzywy” Krzywiec / free admission

Venue: Black Room of Galeria Labirynt, 5 Popiełuszki street

Between April 14-16, we hosted Samu Forsblom, the Program Director of the European Capital of Culture Oulu 2026, in Lublin.

During his stay Samu Forsblom became acquainted with the cultural specificity of Lublin, visited selected cultural institutions of Lublin and the Chapel of the Holy Trinity in Lublin, the history of which (as well as the names of noblemen scratched on the walls in the 17th century, the oldest example of “vandalism in Lublin)” made a lasting impression on him.
A workshop with representatives of Lublin cultural institutions took place on the second day, followed by work with the Program Council and the authors of the Lublin 2029 application. On April 16th a fruitful meeting between the President and the Mayor of Lublin, Krzysztof Żuk, and representatives of the Lublin City Hall, was held. The visit was concluded with a summary of the work of the Curatorial Council. Sam Forsblom’s visit to Lublin is the beginning of a promising further cooperation.