‘Sztama’ – a project on building community through culture – has launched at 46 Ruska Street
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How can we build relationships in a space used daily by dozens of people and organisations with different needs, experiences and ways of working? How can we ensure that the courtyard is not just a space for everyone to share, but also a space for cooperation? How can we ensure that the courtyard is not just a space for everyone to share, but also a space for cooperation? We will be seeking answers to these questions through the project ‘Sztama. Building a community in the courtyard at 46 Ruska Street’, which the Wrocław Institute of Culture is running this summer.
For years, Ruska 46 has been one of the most distinctive places on Wrocław’s cultural map.It is a space where artists, community organisations, cultural institutions, craftspeople, migrants and city residents come together. ‘Sztama’ aims to create an opportunity for them to get to know one another better, work together and develop new ways of co-creating the courtyard.
We began the project by holding discussions and identifying the needs of the Ruska 46 community. Together with our project partner – The Klub Solitaer e.V. from Chemnitz, an organisation specialising in community design and working with local communities – we met with people associated with the courtyard, learnt about their perspectives and looked for topics that could serve as a starting point for joint activities.
The next stage involved the creation of three Community Workshops, run by pairs comprising artists and representatives of organisations and communities based at Ruska 46. The Micro-Intervention Workshop, created by IP Group and the Ukraine Foundation, will design a small-scale spatial intervention – an open-access art installation that will encourage people to pause, meet and make everyday use of the shared space. The Polyphony Workshop, run by GUA Collective and the Association of Polish Karaites, will create a community mini-archive of Ruska 46, collecting photographs, memories and stories of people connected to this place. Meanwhile, the Interaction Workshop, run by Otwarte Pracownie Plastyczne and the ‘Za Wolność Waszą i Naszą’ Foundation, will focus on intergenerational and intercultural activities based on collaborative manual work. The result of the workshops will be a large-format patchwork fabric, which, during the project’s finale, will serve as a tablecloth for a communal neighbourhood table.
The process will conclude on 25 September with an open event entitled ‘Sztama. A Neighbourhood Community Event’, which will not only showcase the results of several months’ work, but above, all, serve as a celebration of the Ruska 46 community. The programme will feature artistic activities, the launch of a community zine, the collaborative creation of a large-scale piece of fabric, a neighbourhood dinner and concerts inspired by the multicultural character of this place.
Sztama is a project aimed at building trust, strengthening neighbourly relations and collaboratively designing the spaces we use every day. We want to explore how culture can become a tool for collaboration, rather than just an excuse to meet. We want to explore how culture can become a tool for collaboration, rather than just an excuse to meet. Over the coming months, we will be sharing the next stages of this process and inviting people connected to Ruska 46, as well as anyone who wants to get to know this unique place better, to join us.
Ruska 46 is a unique space, known especially for its historic neon signs. For years, it has served as a major hub for cultural activity in Wrocław. The annual festival is an opportunity to experience diverse forms of culture and get to know the people who help shape this place!
