After this month, I think of the residency not as a series of “interventions”, but rather as an exercise in recovering visibility, choice, and relation. It was not about me coming into the company and “teaching art” to anyone. It was more about introducing a somewhat different dynamic. A little disruption, but a meaningful one. A few questions, a few shifts. A little conversation about what we listen to, what we read, how we think, what we regard as our own, and what we have accepted unknowingly. If, as a result of those conversations, some processes were set in motion in people, even small ones, even without a ready answer, that is already a great deal. It is not always visible directly. Sometimes it comes only in the form of a joke, an association, a change of tone, a question asked in passing. But that is usually where something begins.
At a time when there is an ongoing debate about artists’ working conditions and their role in society, it is worth looking at specific examples that demonstrate how culture works outside institutions and stages. The “Culture at Work” (“Kultura w Pracy”) project originated from the belief that the presence of artists can enrich workplaces, bring in new perspectives and create space for conversations where life usually revolves around routine. Art can be present in everyday spaces, even those where you might not expect to find it – in companies and workplaces too.
Ivan Davydenko, who collaborated on the first literary residency of the programme, shares his experience from a month spent at Medisept. During this time, he observed, held numerous conversations, and wrote texts at the heart of the company. As he puts it, “One of its assumptions, after all, was the reduction of isolation: opening companies to the presence of an artist, and opening the artist to people with whom he would not ordinarily have direct contact.”
In the interview below, you will learn why, according to the author, the task of the artist is, among other things, to dismantle harmful ideas about art and culture, and how the presence of an artist in a workplace may foster conversations that change the way you perceive yourself and others.
We encourage you to read the first interview in the series summarising the literary residencies that were completed within the “Culture at Work” project. The interview and its editorial preparation were carried out by Ralph Talmont. Please scroll down for the English version.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE WHOLE INTERVIEW WITH IVAN DAVYDENKO
Translated by Zofia Świerszcz
Proofread by Aleksandra Górecka
