Discussion meeting "Ecologies of the Culture IV. Urban Ecology"
Curator: Janusz Adam Biedrzycki
Leader: Zofia Smolarska
Guests: Magdalena Gałkiewicz, Marcin Gawroński, Kasper Jakubowski, Kinga Zinowiec - Cieplik
Date: 25.08.2024 / Sunday
Time: 12 pm - 4 pm
Place: Room C_101, Art Factory in Lodz, 3 Tymienieckiego Street
Admission: free / prior booking of free tickets is required
Booking of free tickets: from July 29, 2024 / via kicket.com portal
Duration: 240 minutes (including a coffee break)
Participants’ age: 12+
Discussion panel will be held in Polish.
DESCRIPTION OF THE MEETING
During the next edition of the "Ecologies of Culture" we would like to focus on the interdisciplinary concept of "urban ecology". During the discussion meeting, we want to address the topics of nature abuse in the city and the lack of solutions to support the natural environment in urbanised areas. In the age of such rapid civilisational development and in the face of a climate catastrophe, we want to share good practices, experiences, and a multifaceted approach to ecological solutions in cities, which have become an indispensable part of the landscape. The aim of urban ecology is to try to achieve a balance between human culture and the environment. We want to ask our invited experts, activists, and urban officials whether Łódź can be a nature-friendly place.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE GUESTS
Janusz Adam Biedrzycki - curator of the meeting. Actor, dancer, choreographer, theatre instructor, director. Graduate of Humanities Department, major in: Culture studies, Folklore and ethnology, Theatre and Film Studies at Maria Curie Skłodowska University in Lublin. Graduate of Culture Management on Literature Theory, Theatre and Audiovisual Art Institute of University of Lodz. "Pedagogue in Theatre" course participant organised by Theatre Institute in Warsaw. Co-founder and member of CHOREA Theatre. Ministry of Culture and National Heritage scholarship holder in: 2010 and 2014, and City Hall of Lodz scholarship holder in: 2013, 2017 and 2022. Co-creator of a manual "Physical actor training - from individual to group actions" (2015), created in collaboration with PWSFTViT and with support of NIMiT. Since 2007 an instructor and educator in Art Factory, author of several workshops and educational projects for children, youth and adults. The originator and producer of interdisciplinary workshops cycle "Laboratory of Creative Actions" (editions: 2019, 2020, 2021). Founder and leader of Senior-Youth Theatre Group CHOREA. From 2022 member of Polish Actors Association. Curator of discussion meetings: "The Ecology of Culture" in 2022 and "The Ecology of Culture II. Education" in 2023.
Zofia Smolarska - theatrologist and social researcher with a PhD in art studies. The author of "Rimini Protokoll. Blind Alleys of Participatory Theatre" (2017). In 2017-2021, she lectured at the Theatre Academy in Warsaw. Zofia is the author of essays, reviews, and scholarly articles printed in journals such as "Theatre", "Science", "Polish Theatre Journal", "Theatre Forum", and "Qualitative Sociology". In her PhD thesis (2020), she addressed the topic of social ecology in theatre, analysing the creative process from the perspective of theatre craftsmen. Together with Kamila Lewandowska, PhD, she studied the evaluation criteria of Polish theatre criticism and the Polish higher arts education system. Zofia currently lives in Kraków, working as an editor of the "Humanities" and "Social Sciences" academic journals at the MDPI publishing house.
Magdalena Gałkiewicz - ecofeminist, vegan, and activist for human rights, animal rights, and nature conservation. Magdalena is a graduate of the 27th School for Political Leaders, the Chairwoman of the Łódź branch of the Greens party since March 2018, a Łódź City Councillor (2024-2029) and the Chairwoman of the Environmental Protection Committee, as well as the co-founder of the Łódź Gals for Gals Association, a volunteer at the International Movement for Animals "Viva!" Foundation, a Łódź Anti-Hunting Movement activist, and a member of the "Save Women", "Secular State Project" and "Legal Abortion. No Compromises" citizens' legislative initiative committees.
Kinga Zinowiec-Cieplik - landscape architect. Kinga is a graduate of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Horticulture, Department of Landscape Architecture (1991) and completed her postgraduate studies at the National Higher School of Landscape Design of Versailles, France (École Nationale Supérieure du Paysage de Versailles) (1994/95), obtaining a post-graduate certificate in landscape design studies (Certificat d’Etudes Supérieures Paysagères, CESP). She specialises in designing recreational spaces, with a particular focus on social and environmental aspects, has designed parks and public squares, and is the author of publications on environmentally responsible design. Kinga is the organiser and co-host of the "Architecture of the Climate Crisis" series of events at the Zodiak Architecture Pavilion in Warsaw, and a member of the Association of Polish Architects (SARP) - the Sustainable Architecture Section, the Association of Polish Landscape Architects (SPAK), and the Association of Horticultural Engineers and Technicians (SITO-NOT). She worked at the Department of Landscape Art at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW) for many years, has been an assistant professor at the Faculty of Architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology since 2011, and has been running a design office since 2006.
Marcin Gawroński - PhD, Eng., the Director of the Green Building Department at Sweco Poland, the President of the Polish Green Building Council, and the Chairman of the Board of the Future Cities Foundation. Marcin is a practitioner with more than 14 years of experience in the sustainable construction industry, and has turned a small team of engineers into a 40-strong, award-winning Green Building Department, which is the Polish market leader in multi-criteria certification services and green investment support. Sweco was responsible for the BREEAM certification of the first buildings in Poland, both new and existing, assessing more than 400 of them to date. Marcin is also the author of more than a dozen publications in areas related to green building, and heads the Future Cities Foundation, which supports initiatives aimed at creating modern and friendly cities and organises Future Cities conferences.
Kasper Jakubowski - environmental educator, landscape architect, populariser of the fourth nature, restorationist, and university lecturer. Kasper received his PhD in 2019, and is the President of the Children in Nature Foundation and the content director at Forest Maker. At the Foundation, he is also responsible for graphics, educational path design, and contact with the media. He is the author of texts on natural succession, the potential of "wastelands", wilderness in the city, restoration, and environmental education in the "urban jungle”". Kasper participated in the "CoAdapt: Neighbourhood with Climate" project in cooperation with the Warsaw University of Life Sciences, and published an e-book on the fourth nature, which is hope for cities. There is room for biodiversity and wildness in all the green areas he designs. He is the brains behind the creation of the Natura Station in Zielonki near Kraków, designs and plants community micro-forests across Poland using the Miyawaki method, and creates plant art installations and gardens (Retroversions, Anthropocene, InGarden, or Narratives).
