kujawsko-pomorskie newsletter: no. 7

Kujawsko-Pomorskie Newsletter

News at a glance

No. 7 · N

ov 2010

www.torun2016.eu www.mojregion.eu

Transnational cooperation

Transnational cooperationMelancholy of resistanceOne man theatresFour seasons of a bookViolin concerts in ToruńChristmas delicacy

Kujawsko-Pomorskie Newsletter. News at a glance 3

Apart from its cooperation with its sister and twin regions, since 1999 Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship participates in the transnational network created by Sweden’s Ostergottland County Administrative Board. Despite Ostergottland and Kujawsko-Pomorskie there are Cesis district from Latvia, Abruzzo region from Italy, South Great Plain from Hungary and Lahti from Finland.

The purpose of the network is to facilitate the application and management of EU projects, exchange knowledge between experts and officials in the regions, organise events and conferences and build a good base for a future cooperation.

Kujawsko-Pomorskie in transnational

cooperation network

Kujawsko-Pomorskie Newsletter. News at a glance4

The network has existed for a few years now and has already established some projects implemented mostly within European Territorial Cooperation. The partners meet at least once a year to discuss possible ways of future cooperation.

Thanks to these meetings some initiatives have been already undertaken by the partner regions: Defirs – Development of First Division Regions (2004–2007), the project implemented within INTERREG IIIC, and the ongoing one – W2E: Waste To Energy, which tackles an important issue of alternative energy from municipal waste.

The last meeting took place on 9–10th of November, 2010 in the heart of European regions cooperation – Brussels. Apart from the project ideas, participants from Sweden, Hungary, Italy and Finland discussed the possibilities of extension of the existing group.

Transnational cooperation

Melancholy of resistance



Unknown works of artists from former Soviet republics are presented from November 6, 2010 to January 30, 2011 in the Centre of Contemporary Art “Znaki Czasu” in Toruń at the exhibition entitled “The melancholy of resistance.”

Works of exceptional artists, among others Wiaczesław Achunow, Siergiej Bratkow and Hamlet Owsepian, come from the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp. The exhibition’s title refers to the visionary novel of Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkaia. The book tells the story of a music teacher steeped in melancholy, looking for the new rules of harmony.

An unique exhibition in Toruń’s Centre of

Contemporary Art


“One of the curator inspirations was the relationship between music and social order which in art has found a number of highly interesting developments” – explains Bart de Baere, director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp. The exhibition presents artists for whom the individual expression is most important. The exhibition is curated by Daniel Muzyczuk and Agnieszka Pindera.

The Centre of Contemporary Art “Znaki Czasu” in Toruń is one of the most modern spaces dedicated to contemporary art in Poland. The centre puts on a modern formula, intermedia and interdisciplinary activities. Toruń’s Centre is a place of discussion on the most important phenomena in contemporary art. The mission of the CoCA is to develop, propagate and promote contemporary art.

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One man theatres



Outstanding artists from Poland and abroad giving performances of theatrical legends and numerous artistic events — were just some of the highlights of the anniversary edition of the Toruń Meetings of One Man Theatre Shows, which was held from 26 to 28 November. The best monodramas of Polish and foreign performers could be seen and heard in the Baj Pomorski Theatre in Toruń.

“Presented performances often resemble a personal confession” – explain the festival organizers. “Monodramas are characterized by the special relationship formed between the actor standing alone on a stage and the audience.”

The Festival of festivals.Toruń Meetings of One

Man Theatre Shows


The Meetings changed the formula and became the festival of festivals. “The jubilee edition reminded the best monodramas in the history of festival and presented the latest one-man shows performed by outstanding Polish and foreign actors” – explains Marzenna Wiśniewska, literary manager of the Baj Pomorski Theatre.

The festival, lasting three days, was divided into three parts, each of them having a different artistic leitmotif. During the first day the audience saw the spectacles of the star cast, among other Michal Siegoczynski’s monodrama “Attention – Bad dogs” and Tadeusz Malak’s performance of “Mr. Cogito’s wrestling with the world”. The second day was dedicated to contemporary literature. Artists from Hungary, Lithuania and Russia presented works of modern authors: Różewicz, Wyrpajew and Kunin. The last day of the festival was devoted to William Shakespeare. Armenian artists presented two plays: “Hamlet” and “Ophelia”. The last spectacle of the festival was “Richard on Richard” regarded as the best monodrama in the world.

One man theatres



The “Four seasons of a book” festival is an idea for a year-round promotion of reading. The festival is devoted to contemporary Polish literature and the most interesting phenomena of the world literature. The main feature of the festival are meetings with authors which are accompanied by some literary events prepared for those who do not normally participate in an active way in the literary life.

The festival events take place simultaneously in several cities in Poland. Events are organized in cooperation with local partners: libraries, bookstores, cultural centres and other organizations working in the public space. The festival is held

Four seasonsof a book festival

held in Toruń


throughout the year in four scenes: Poetry (late February and March), Popular Literature (April), Prose (October) and Crime Fiction (November).

The third edition of the festival in Toruń was dominated by the stars: Witold Pyrkosz, Jerzy Gruza, Maria Czubaszek and Alina Janowska. The meetings were held at the Copernicus Library in Toruń.

Alina Janowska starred in dozens of feature films. She debuted in 1946 in “Forbidden Songs” directed by Leonard Buczkowski and gained enormous popularity thanks to Jerzy Gruza’s “Civil War” (1965). For several years she played in “Złotopolscy” TV series. Alina Janowska was the star of several Warsaw theatres: Syrena, Buffo, STS and Komedia.

On the 16th of November a meeting with Witold Pyrkosz, a star of Polish television and theatre and film actor, was held. He is a co-author of “Double born. Memories.” His stories contain a wealth of knowledge about film and theatre.

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During the festival Toruń was visited by Maria Czubaszek, a poet, writer, author and songwriter. Since 1966 she has been working with the Programme III of Polish Radio. She authored several famous radio plays, inter alia, “Smoke a cigarette”. Maria Czubaszek is a frequent guest on TV show “Babylon” on TVN24. She runs an unusual blog which comments, among others, on Polish reality.

The recent guest of the festival was Jerzy Gruza, a director, screenwriter and creator of the TV series which have enjoyed great popularity. Recently the director of the “Civil War” and “The Forties” series published a book “A coffee table. Anecdotes, gossips, denunciations”. The author leads with us an extraordinary talk about the life. In his stories tragic and comic events intertwine, and defiance is adjacent to irony and self-irony. The author shares his thoughts on destructive time, diseases and weakness of the human nature. However, he has wisdom, knowledge and a sense of humour on his side, so that the bitterness, grief and philosophical assertions do not turn on the pages of his book into anguish, eternal melancholy and trivial conversations.

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Violin concerts in Toruń



On 21–30 November, 2010 Toruń, for the second time, hosted the International Violin Competition. The event was organized by Artus Court Cultural Centre.

The young violinists were evaluated by an international jury composed of Professor Wanda Wiłkomirska (Poland) – the president of the jury, Professor Alexander Andreyev (Russia), Professor Marcin Baranowski (Poland), conductor Christoph Mathias Mueller (Germany), Professor Tomotada Soh (Japan), Professor Jan Stanienda (Poland) and conductor Dima Tkachenko (Ukraine).

“Man made the violin in search of perfection” – explains Michał E. Staśkiewicz, the director of the competition. “No other instrument – figuratively and literally – is closer to the

International violin competition in Toruń


heart of the player. The virtuosos are able to extract unique tones and vibrations from it. Violin sounds are enchanted with the most beautiful verses of longing and feelings that accompany man in his life.”

The young violinists fought for prize money and an award being the astrolabium of Nicolaus Copernicus – an astronomer who lived in Toruń and developed a heliocentric theory of the Solar System. The concerts were held in the Great Hall of the Artus Court in Toruń.

The winner of this year’s competition was Korea’s Yoon Yang. The second and third places were taken respectively by Poland’s Maria Włoszczowska and France’s Cemence de Forceville. The other finalists were Marta Kowalczyk, Julita Smoleń and Maxima Sitarz.

Violin concerts in Toruń

Christmas delicacy



The Toruń Gingerbread. The Polish word for gingerbread is “piernik” and it stems from an Old Polish adjective “pierny” denoting a spicy spice used, along with ginger, cardamom, aniseed and clove, as an ingredient of gingerbread dough.

The most distinctive Toruń gingerbread cookie is the unusually simple “katarzynka”, whose form and flavour were devised by the nuns living in Toruń in the Middle Ages.

The gingerbread is a “trademark” of the city of Toruń and its popularity matches the renown of the great astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. The “Gingerbread Town” or the “Gingerbread Capital” are just two examples of the names by which Toruń is known. Accurate names they are, it must be

The taste of Toruń’s Christmas delicacy


admitted, as gingerbread cookies have been baked here ever since the Middle Ages. Today they are the most sought after of all the local souvenirs.

The unique quality of the gingerbread found recognition even in Frederic Chopin’s letters from his holiday stay in Toruń, in which he described the beauty of the city and wrote: “Yet all of this does not surpass the gingerbread, oh that gingerbread, a piece of which I have sent to Warsaw…”

When in Toruń, one should visit the exhibition titled “The World of the Toruń Gingerbread” housed in the vaults of the Copernicus’ House. Dressed in period clothing and sharing interesting legends about the delicacy, the guides unveil the history of the gingerbread of Toruń. At the same time, visitors are offered an opportunity to get a hands-on experience of the history and prepare their own hand made gingerbread cookies.

The history of the Toruń dainty can also be explored in the “Live Gingerbread Museum”. Here visitors can knead and

form the dough and then see how the gingerbread is baked according to old recipes and methods.

Contemporarily, the gingerbread flavour blends find application in numerous spheres of life. To name a few examples, the guests of some of the restaurants in Toruń can enjoy goulash with gingerbread sauce and afterwards drink a cup of coffee sprinkled with gingerbread powder served in the local cafés. Furthermore, in Poland it is a Christmas tradition to have the Toruń gingerbread cookies on hand on the table. It’s no wonder! They are much liked by the little ones.

So, come to the Gingerbread Town and see for yourself that Chopin and thousands of other people could not be wrong praising the flavour of those unusual cookies.

form the dough and then see how the gingerbread is baked according to old recipes and methods.

Contemporarily, the gingerbread flavour blends find application in numerous spheres of life. To name a few examples, the guests of some of the restaurants in Toruń can enjoy goulash with gingerbread sauce and afterwards drink a cup of coffee sprinkled with gingerbread powder served in the local cafés. Furthermore, in Poland it is a Christmas tradition to have the Toruń gingerbread cookies on hand on the table. It’s no wonder! They are much liked by the little ones.

So, come to the Gingerbread Town and see for yourself that Chopin and thousands of other people could not be wrong praising the flavour of those unusual cookies.

Municipal Institution of Culture Toruń 2016ul. Pod Krzywą Wieżą 1, 87-100 Toruń, Polandphone: +48 56 621 0 333fax: +48 56 651 02 37e-mail: [email protected]

Information Office of Kujawsko-Pomorskie RegionAvenue de Tervuren 84, 1040 Brussels, Belgiumphone: +32 2 734 12 17fax: +32 2 734 29 96e-mail: [email protected]

kujawsko-pomorskie newsletter: no. 7

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