In search of an invisible community – Marina Pietrocoli’s residency
The Italian photographer’s month-long creative residency in Wrocław became an attempt to reach out to a community that lives right next to us, yet remains almost invisible on a daily basis. Combining documentary photography with social practices, the artist established a dialogue with the Korean minority in our city.
The artistic residency of Marina Pietrocola in Wrocław began with an alliance between two curators: Sangmin Cha, affiliated with Folkestone Fringe, and the curator representing the Wrocław Institute of Culture. This collaboration became the conceptual point of departure for a project whose ambition was to initiate a dialogue with the Korean community living in Wrocław and in Bielany Wrocławskie. The choice of this group stemmed from curiosity and the desire to work with a community that coexists alongside the Polish majority yet remains largely invisible in the everyday life of the city. Entering the project was not straightforward, it required groundwork, arranging meetings, and making repeated attempts to build intercultural trust. Before the artist could embark on any creative process, it became necessary to conduct a curatorial investigation: mapping the places where Koreans spend time and learning the rhythms of life of this diverse community.
The research unfolded simultaneously in two areas: in Wrocław’s city centre, particularly around the market square and streets where Korean restaurants operate, and in Bielany Wrocławskie, a satellite town in the Kobierzyce municipality. It was precisely there, in the immediate vicinity of Wrocław’s Partynice and Klecina districts, that the development of a local Korean community began with the establishment of LG Solution factories and the influx of employees arriving with their families on multi-year contracts. In the 1990s, Bielany was still a typical agricultural village, but strategic actions taken by the local mayor, it underwent a rapid transformation aimed at attracting corporate headquarters. Changes in land-use status, the arrival of major companies, and the dynamic growth of industry turned the municipality into one of the wealthiest in the region. This local context, combined with the historical layers of neighbouring Partynice and Klecina, once elegant pre-war suburbs later heavily damaged during the 1945 battles, gave the project an additional layer. These sites, shaped by war, communism, and late capitalism, became spaces where different models of migration and economic development intersect, revealing how past and present socio-political transformations continue to shape contemporary communities.
Marina Pietrocola, a photographer working at the intersection of documentary art and socially engaged practice, entered this environment with an explicit interest in Korean culture, in people, and in the intricate relationships between personal narratives and public space. Her approach weaves together image and text, attentive observation, and the construction of narrative through intimate relationships with the individuals she photographs. This methodology resonated strongly with the context of the project, in which the gradual building of trust was essential. Marina undertook the challenge of creating conditions in which the presence of a camera would not become a barrier but instead function as a tool for establishing trust. This was a demanding process, time-consuming and absorbing many weeks of the residency, which further underscored the value of the artistic and research-driven process she pursued.
The first stage of the residency involved acquiring knowledge about the community. Essential to this were consultations with Martyna Wyleciał and Marta Niewiadomska, experts in Korean culture and literature who run a lecture series at the Lower Silesian Public Library and collaborate with the library’s Window on Korea section. It was there that the artist and the curators familiarized themselves with cultural materials and, crucially, with frameworks for understanding communication styles, cultural nuances, and the everyday rhythms of the Korean diaspora. A study visit to Bielany Wrocławskie, led by Szymon Maraszewski, further deepened the understanding of the district almost empty during the day, becoming animated only in the evening when corporate employees return home.
Simultaneously, the artist began regularly visiting owners of Korean-run businesses in the centre of Wrocław such as restaurants, shops, and service venues. The colourful ornaments, intense lighting, visual richness of the food, and distinct ways of running a business created a vivid contrast with the more austere industrial landscape of Bielany Wrocławskie. Over time, Marina gained the trust of several business owners, and in some locations, she was permitted to photograph them. A selection of these portraits was later transformed into a series of dedicated stickers. Each one became a visual signature of the respective venue involved in the project. Portraits of owners and images of dishes formed the basis for creating a map of Korean businesses, distributed across various points in Wrocław. A city game centred on collecting stickers opened the project to a wider audience, becoming an educational tool that encouraged residents to explore Korean culture through the city’s geography.
A crucial moment in building relationships was the organization of the first Polish–Korean meeting at the Wrocław Institute of Culture. It was during this gathering that Marina presented her idea for a small photo-text magazine documenting differences in gestures, language, communication styles, and everyday cultural practices. The digital version of the magazine is available for viewing on our website (here). The printed version will also be distributed free of charge in the city in early 2026. Its accessible format is aligned with the project’s goal of creating bridges between Polish and Korean cultures. In parallel, the artist began working on a series of family portraits, redefining the notion of “family” by presenting relationships that do not always adhere to traditional frameworks. One portrait features the owner of Oseyo25 posing with her Polish co-workers, whom she regards as her closest circle. Meanwhile, a Polish–Korean couple running a Korean cosmetics shop invited the artist into their private home, where Marina created a studio portrait.
Through persistence in her artistic investigation, the artist gained access to spaces typically closed to outsiders: she visited the Korean School and attended a service of the Korean Christian community, and an encounter was made possible thanks to the openness of the local pastor. Throughout the entire residency, the project was supported by Sangmin Cha, who provided conceptual guidance and participated in regular consultations. At the same time, another Magic Carpets resident, photographer Mariam Giunashvili (Mzesu), conducted a parallel photographic research process within the same community. The residency culminated in a joint presentation of results in the form of a pop-up event at one of the project’s collaborating venues – Oseyo25.
Developing through the rhythm of research, meetings, and numerous attempts to approach the community, the entire project demonstrates that curatorial and artistic work grounded in relationship-building requires time, attentiveness, and a willingness to step outside one’s comfort zone. The residency of Marina Pietrocola represents only the beginning of a broader process of cultural exchange between Polish and Korean communities. The project will continue in the next residency cycle, but already it constitutes a crucial investigative foundation for initiating meaningful future change.
Paulina Brelińska-Garsztka
- Artist: Marina Pietrocola
- Curators: Paulina Brelińska-Garsztka, Sangmin Cha
- Partners: Lower Silesian Public Library, Szymon Maraszewski, Martyna Wyleciał (Azjatycka Półka), Marta Niewiadomska (Pani od koreańskiego), Oseyo 25, Bingsu House, Aura3AM, ManiToGo, Seoul97 Cafe, Darea, Fathers’ Kitchen, Ottugi – Asian Food, Piekarnia Girumi, U&I Mart, Secret Garden.
WIK is a partner of the international Magic Carpets platform, co-financed by the European Union’s Creative Europe program, which brings together more than a dozen cultural organizations.
