The Art of Education is a series of annual methodological conferences on broadly defined culture and social activities in curricula, as well as opportunities for cooperation between schools and public and non-public cultural institutions (including local government cultural institutions or NGOs) in developing educational projects. The first of these was held in 2013.

The Art of Education conference is going on tour in Poland again! This time, as part of it, we want to initiate a several-year series We learn from you and create a map of important, interesting educational projects that are being developed across the country. The Art of Education is primarily a meeting of people in practice involved in the cultural education of children and young people, both formal and informal. They are attended by teachers_women, educators_goods, educators_tors, animators_tors and artists_sts. We create a space for conversation, discussion and exchange of experiences. The theme will be local conditions and work in the context of specific places and the challenges they pose to those involved in education. These conferences are not only a space for mutual inspiration and networking, but also an excellent opportunity to establish relationships that can turn into joint projects. It's also a moment to reinforce the notion that culture is an essential tool for enabling people to function in society.

This year we have already visited Szczecin and Gdansk, and will visit Elblag and (at the same time) Slupsk, Ustka and Koszalin.

The Art of Education is a series of annual methodological conferences on broadly understood culture and social activities in curricula, as well as on the possibilities for cooperation between schools and public and non-public cultural institutions (including local government cultural institutions or NGOs) in the creation of educational projects. Previously, it had its unveilings in Białystok, Zielona Góra, Kielce, Radziejowice, Bytom and Bydgoszcz, among others. The first of these was held in 2013.

The art of education - We learn from you

 Elbląg

One of the oldest cities in Poland with, paradoxically, the youngest postmodern and eclectic Old Town appears to be full of contradictions. Our mental guide to Elblag will be Gerard Jürgen Blum Kwiatkowski. The artist was born in 1930 in Faulen (now Ulnowo). For many years he was associated with Elblag: in 1956-1961, as a company visual artist in “Zamech”, he co-founded and managed the Club of Young Intelligentsia “Red Oberża”, in 1961 he founded and led the Art Laboratory and EL Gallery, initiator and organizer of the Biennale of Spatial Forms (1965-1973) and many other artistic events. After going to Germany, he initiated the so-called art stations in Cornberg, Fulda, Eschwege and Kleinsassen. In 1990, he opened the Museum of Modern Art in Hünfeld, where he assembled a collection of avant-garde art and ran the Free Academy of Art. In this city he also realized the idea of the “open book” - popularizing the achievements of concrete poetry in urban spaces. He passed away in August 2015.

Our study of local contexts this year draws on Blum Kwiatkowski's idea of “regionalization.” This idea involved assigning geographically delineated areas to specific artists, who were expected to recognize local problems and take action to actively shape their culturally familiar neighborhoods. Of the concepts created by Kwiatkowski, the term “art workers” is particularly inspiring. In 1972-1973, he co-founded Central and Eastern Europe's first art zine, “Art Worker's Notebook.” Today, this term is returning to our vocabulary in the context of the precariousness and invisibility of female and male educators working in gallery and museum spaces.