Project Kick-off

events Programme

The project kick-off took place in May 2024 in Wrocław, where the project coordinator, the Urban Memory Foundation, is located. The kick-off was planned as a 3-day event (May 28-30) with a diverse program, in which project partners from four EU countries took part to discuss the implementation and schedule of the ReActMem project, meet with Polish-Jewish artists and participate in workshops together with them, and take part in the accompanying program presenting the Jewish heritage of the city of Wrocław.

The ReActMem project meetings included sessions and discussions on planning the project implementation, getting to know each other as consortium partners, and mapping the opportunities and challenges of the project. Working sessions took place mainly on the first day of the event (May 28), and the talks continued in an informal manner throughout the rest of the program. Representatives of 8 partner organizations came to the event. Their common goal was to consolidate knowledge, build synergies, exchange ideas, familiarize themselves with the detailed calendar of events, and get to know each other as a project working group.

On May 29-30, a meeting and workshops with Polish-Jewish artists gathered around the Kultur Lige initiative took place. The initiative entitled “Kultur Lige” refers in its name and activities to the pre-war idea of ​​popularizing Jewish culture, which was promoted by the organization founded in 1918. Jewish artists from all over Poland came to the two-day workshops organized to celebrate the launch of the ReActMem project. They represented various forms of artistic expression: dance, singing, painting, theater. The workshops were a practical tool for exchanging experiences between artists, learning about methods of managing artistic projects, applying for funds and establishing associations. The main part of the workshops was led by artists Nathalie Kertesz and Maor Ze’ev from the Barcelona branch of the international organization “Laboratory of Jewish Culture” (LABA), a partner organization of the ReActMem project.

On May 28-29, participants took part in accompanying events. They included visiting the exhibition “Putting Things Back. Jewish Breslauers and Their Objects” in the OP ENHEIM gallery. A work with the memory of the pre-war Jewish community of the city was presented and a meeting was organized with descendants of the families of that community who participated in the project and loaned objects for the exhibition as well as with a Berlin-based artist Anna Schapiro whose artwork is part of the exhibit. Participants also took part a guided tour of the city of Jewish Wrocław.

Photos : Jerzy Wypych (at OP ENHEIM), Tomasz Woydyłło