designers' task force
For the Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw, taking over the space at 9/15 Marszałkowska Street means launching a new public programme, among the key goals of which is to highlight and rethink, with the participation of the public, artists, and researchers, the social responsibility of a contemporary art institution. The activities pursued at 9/15 Marszałkowska Street will be public. They will focus on organising site-specific research projects, seminars, and residencies for professionals of various specialisations from Poland and abroad, relating to the place’s social, historical, architectural tissue.
For the artists-in-residence and their collaborators, the former commercial establishment will serve as a gallery, an open studio, a space for meetings and workshops.
The process of moving in was entrusted to Małgorzata Kuciewicz and Simone De Iacobis, architects from the Centrala Designers’ Task Force. Between July and December 2014, as part of an A-I-R Laboratory residency, they carried out a series of workshops for architecture students with the aim of conducting an exemplary revitalisation of the socialist-realist interiors. An inventory of the premises was conducted, and non-original elements were removed. The space’s original stylistic features will be gradually restored as new functions are programmed and renovation progresses. A site portfolio is also being created: a collection of materials documenting the venue’s architecture, décor, and the changes it has undergone since its construction in 1951.
For the conclusion of their residency at A-I-R, the Centrala Designers’ Task Force proposed using the flag holder – one of the most characteristic features of socialist-realist building façades – to convey information about the venue. In November 2014, Simone De Iacobis mounted a flag inspired by the ceiling decorations.
Architecture workshops at Marszałkowska 9/15 July–December 2014
Leaders: Centrala Designers’ Task Force - Małgorzata Kuciewicz and Simone De Iacobis
Worskhops participants: Anna Bożek, Sylwia Długoszewska, Magdalena Gajda, Krzysztof Grochal, Ela Grzelczak, Łukasz Harat, Kuba Kopecki, Klaudia Lachcik, Anna Młodzianowska, Maja Piechowiak, Michał Przychodzeń, Joanna Sibrecht, Olga Skrbeńska, Katarzyna Strzelecka, Marcin Szelejak, Michał Wasielewski, Paulina Włodarczyk, Martyna Woźniak, Magdalena Romanowska
Graphics:
2015 Artists-In-Residence Laboratory Diary
Published by: Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle
Edited by: Marianna Dobkowska
Graphic design and concept: Marianna Dobkowska, Krzysztof Bielecki
© 2014 The respective Authors and the Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle
ISBN 978-83-61156-78-9
