Cześć Brześć 2019 exhibition
Students and teachers of AFA Katowice have organized a poster exhibition to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the town of Brest (Belarus). The exhibition at the Brest Regional Socio-Cultural Centre will be open until 11 August.
'The idea of a student poster exhibition celebtrating the 1000th anniversary of Brest emerged a year ago, when the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice presented a retrospect of the works of poster artists from Silesia at the invitation of the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Brest. A year later, thanks to another invitation from the Consulate and the hospitality of the Brest Regional Socio-Cultural Centre, another exhibition was successfully organized for the inhabitants of Brest. The exhibition became part of the town’s 1000th anniversary celebration.
The entire project was made possible thanks to excellent cooperation with the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Brest, with the support of the Polish Institute in Minsk. The Consul General Mr Piotr Kozakiewicz, representatives of the Brest local government and cultural institutions and I all delivered addressed at the exhibition opening on Friday 26 July 2019.
This time, the presentation includes works by young artists: AFA Katowice students. The works were produced at the Branding Studio and the Poster Design Studio. I have decided to name the exhibition Cześć Brześć! (Hi Brest!), an informal greeting used in one of the posters. It encapsulates the young people’s temperament and enjoyment derived from joint work on the project.
The Brest-themed student posters were based on our knowledge about the multicultural character of the town situated in a borderland: "a border that joins," as written by dr Marian Słowicki in the exhibition catalogue. He writes further: "The posters designed by the AFA Katowice students expose the historical changeability and cultural mixture that have built the town’s identity throughout centuries."’
Exhibition curator
dr hab. Katarzyna Gawrych-Olender, prof. ASP w Katowicach