The exhibition "Katowice 150 + 1. Evidence of Change" will open at the Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography

The Polish Cultural Center in Moscow and the Lumiere Brothers Photography Center present a multimedia “portrait” of the actively changing Polish city of Katowice, which last year celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding.

Katowice is the capital of Silesia, the industrial center of Europe of the 19th-20th centuries. Together with 13 neighboring cities, Katowice make up the largest metropolis in Poland and the Gornosilesie agglomeration, unique in Europe, numbering more than 3 million people. Katowice is one of the most striking European examples of a city that has undergone a successful transformation from an industrial, mining province to a center of culture, science and business, an actively developing city with one of the lowest unemployment rates in Poland. It is the country’s most multinational city with a rich history and unique architecture.

Photographer Petr Wujcik made 150 portraits / interviews with the inhabitants of Katowice, and the artists invited by him - 15 photos of landscapes and videos of their chosen places. The contrast between the industrial past of Katowice and its current life is refracted in the colorful personal stories of the interlocutors. The heroes turned out to be unexpected, and their thoughts and ideas made it possible to take a fresh look at the city and the townspeople.

Portrait photographs were taken in Katowice, in places close to the heroes of the project, chosen by themselves. They show a person both in an urban environment and in an intimate, homely environment. Portraits are distinguished by their stylistic unity and variety of content.

Photos are made on black and white film. City landscapes were shot at different times of the year and different times of the day and are impeccably loyal to their objects.

The exhibition includes photographs of Katowice residents, a video of the city’s life, color photographs of city landscapes. Especially for the video presented at the exhibition, musicians from the Katowice Academy of Music wrote jazz compositions called “Katowice Unites”, which are associated with the stages of the city’s development.

The project of the Polish Cultural Center in Moscow and the Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography in collaboration with the Katowice - City of Gardens organization and the Picture Doc Foundation. Author: Petr Vuytsik with the participation of Monica Sample (video), Tomasz Sineka (color photographs). Project Curator: Dominic Ruanet.

Peter Wuytsik , clan in 1967, photographer, documentary filmmaker, teaches at the camera department of the State Higher School of Film, Television and Theater in Lodz, president of the Picture Doc Foundation. The author of many photo and multimedia projects, since 1989 a reporter, and in 2000 - 2011 - the head of the photo editorial office of “Vyborcha Gazeta”. He is the author of documentary projects on gypsies in Europe and social issues in Poland. He was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of the Renaissance of Poland for opposition activities until 1989.

Dominic Ruanet , clan in 1948. She graduated from the Higher School of the Arts in Paris, art director of major European newspapers: Libération, Le Monde, Vyborcha Gazeta. Curator of exhibitions, among them the exhibition of Tomasz Kizna "Gulag" and "Great Terror", co-author of books. She was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of the Renaissance of Poland for her active work in creating a free press in Poland after 1989.