COMMUNITY IDENTITIES
Much has been said recently about Wrocław’s identity. We have heard social researchers, artists, activists. These discussion were held at Wrocław Contemporary Museum and during the MIASTOmovie festival, among others. One of the reflections expressed at that time was the opinion that it is hardly possible to talk about the identity of an organism as complex as a city. However, we feel it is justifiable to talk about “some identities” – local, community, on a micro scale. So if “Wrocław’s identity” is a myth, it may not be the case with identities of its districts – Nadodrze, Oporów, Wielka Wyspa or Brochów.

The “Community Identities” series, jointly carried out by Wrocław Contemporary Museum and MIASTOmovie (Wrocław Film Foundation), consists of three meetings revolving around issues connected with locality. During the first two of them, we are going to look outside the capital of Lower Silesia and find out more about the districts of Gdańsk and Poznań; later, we will check if studies of Wrocław’s district pinpoint any distinctive features of these areas. The third meeting will assume the character of a workshop devoted to west Wrocław. We will see if the inhabitants of this part of the city perceive it differently, whether it is justified to talk about the uniqueness of the “factory district.”

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I
Community identities, vol. 1. PROLOGUE
How is it done in other cities? The examples of Poznań and Gdańsk
Meeting with Anna Urbańczyk and Franciszek Sterczewski
Moderators: Bartek Lis and Lech Moliński
30.11.2016, 7 PM, Beautiful Tube, free admission

During the first meeting, Anna Urbańczyk (City Culture Institute in Gdańsk) and Francisek Sterczewski (an architect and activist from Poznań) will share with us “how it is done in other cities”, i.e. how the process of deepening local identity proceeds in Gdańsk and Poznań. We will find out how the characteristics of individual districts or housing estates are built and how they are used to activate the community to positively contribute to the image of the space where they live. Urbańczyk, who works at the City Culture Institute in Gdańsk and is responsible for reviving the idea of “neighbourliness” and the programme of training local guides, which is hugely popular with locals and tourists alike, will present the methods of creating community in the city as it is practiced by Gdańsk dwellers. Sterczewski, who is a great local patriot from Poznań, for years has been cooperating with different institutions and organisations on making people feel more attached to the space where they live and raising their awareness of the fact that the city belongs primarily to them. At MWW he will talk about the metamorphosis of the district of Jeżyce, which is today considered to be one of the most attractive and best organised housing estates in Poland. The presentations will be followed by discussion with the audience and the moderators.

II
Community identities, vol. 2
“Functional analysis of Wrocław’s housing estates”
Conversations with Maja Zabokrzycka and Izabela Mironowicz
Moderators – Anka Bieliz and Bartek Lis
14.12.2016 (Wednesday), 6 PM, Beautiful Tube, free admission

The second meeting will be devoted to an analysis of the research conducted since 2015 at the commission of Wrocław Municipal Office by the House of Peace Foundation in cooperation with experts in architecture, urban planning and social research. Maja Zabokrzycka and Izabela Mironowicz, members of the team, will refer to the research project to discuss the image of housing estates as shaped by their inhabitants. Is it justified to talk about local identity in this context? Are the inhabitants willing to get involved in the communal life? Do they have a sense of being able to influence their space, and do the community councils make an effort to meet their needs? These will be the subjects discussed by the guests and moderators.

III
Community identities, vol. 3
West Wrocław – is it different, is it diverse? Workshop about the identity of the “factory district”
Workshop supervisors: Katarzyna Wala and Bartek Lis
15.12.16 (Thursday), 6 PM, Beautiful Tube, free admission
Admission free, prior registration required (limited enrolment). Please inform us of your willingness to participate by sending an email to b.lis@muzeumwspolczesne.pl (by 13.12.2016).

Fabryczna is one of the biggest districts of Wrocław. The large high-rise housing estates situated within it – Popowice, Kozanów, Nowy Dwór, Muchobór, Gądów or Pilczyce – seem to be socially and culturally homogenous. Is this an oversimplification? We would like to invite all people connected with these and other housing estates in west Wrocław to participate in the workshop and work on the identity of the “factory district.”