Asylum * Student Exhibition — Poland on Prague Quadrennial

Credits

Author of the Exhibition: Ksenia Makała

Exhibition Supervisor: Marek Chowaniec

Curatorial Team: Marek Chowaniec, Jarosław Cymerman, Krystyna Mogilnicka, Anna Rudek-Śmiechowska
Producer: Zbigniew Raszewski Theatre Institute

Project Production: Karolina Dziełak-Żakowska, Krystyna Mogilnicka

Exhibition description

After the outbreak of the full-scale aggression against Ukraine, new awareness of threats and lack of control became dominant aspects also in Poles’ lives.

The ASYLUM project is an attempt to create a safe space: the roof functions as a shelter which spreads over pedestrians, it provides shade, protects against rain, and interacts with external weather conditions. It can change with the wind, and gain transparency by catching the sun’s rays. It also forms a contrasting and unexpected shape within the existing architectural environment.

The multidimensionality of interpretation of ASYLUM’s forms creates a space which allows for diverse responses from the participants. ASYLUM can appear to be an alien, disturbing element which undermines laws of gravity and stability.

The space of ASYLUM is a meeting place. The full-scale invasion, in February 2022, brought about a mass influx of refugees to Poland. Poles undertook a number of actions to provide immediate assistance at the border. One of the many spontaneous activities was the preparation of meals for refugees.

Eating meals together, either in a hurry or with time to spare, is a part of the reality for people coming from Ukraine to temporary places of stay in Poland.

The use of available spaces resulted in the creation of makeshift catering points. Constructed of various, easily accessible elements, raises awareness of the immediate situation of refugees. The catering stations are open to everyone, offering hot drinks.

The entire concept is temporary, compact. It enables an engaged, direct communication through to the audience. It is a space that mirrors the safety that was offered, the openness, and its inclusiveness.

ASYLUM fits into the overall theme of the exhibition as an unusual and rare place, as well as referring to the real situation on the Polish-Ukrainian border, and other towns throughout the country.

Eating meals together, either in a hurry or with time to spare, is a part of the reality for people coming from Ukraine to temporary places of stay in Poland.

Biographical information

Ksenia Makała

student of the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, graduate of the Faculty of Architecture of the Silesian University of Technology. Ksenia creates the projects in the field of architecture, interior design, scenography and interdisciplinary activities. She is interested in space and relations within it, as well as the impact of urban agglomerations on an individual and their well-being. She is the author of the winning realization in the Competition for an art object in the Polish-German Gardens in Warsaw and a finalist of the aWAKen International Scenic Design Competition.