Season Lublin

January

February

Student Film Confrontations

Student Film Confrontations is a showcase of the most interesting pieces of the world cinema. The main festival venue is the Chatka Żaka Academic Culture Centre. The festival screenings cover films that have received the most important cinema awards: the Golden Globe, the Palme d’Or, or the Oscar. At the same time, the Confrontations strive to provide an alternative to the popular cinema offering. All the films at the Confrontations are shown in Lublin for the first time, and most of them also for the first time in Poland. The event attracts crowds of cinema buffs and has quickly become one of the key cultural events in Lublin. Student Film Confrontations is the brainchild of one man: the unrelenting advocate of the cinema culture in Lublin Piotr Kotowski. Organizer: Kino Studyjne Academic Culture Centre "Chatka Żaka" 16 Radziszewskiego Street 20-031 Lublin

March

Globetrotters Festival " Around The World”

Organizer: Centre for Culture in Lublin 12 Peowiaków Street 20-007 Lublin

April

Lublin Jazz Festival

The Lublin Jazz Festivalis region’s largest international artistic event featuring diverse forms of contemporary jazz music. From its very beginning, the idea of the festival has been to show off the most interesting Polish and world jazz music projects pursued by the most outstanding jazz personalities, from the mainstream to improvised music, as well as young and emerging artists. The festival also spawns special music projects that have not been performed before in any other place. The organisers also seek to offer space for education and integration of the jazz fraternity. Organizer: Centre for Culture in Lublin 12 Peowiaków Street 20-007 Lublin

Season Lublin

The main goal of Season Lublin is to present the city's cultural and historical heritage and the offer of tourist attractions, as well as to build effective forms of cooperation created by the communities involved in the development of tourism in Lublin. The rich program of the event is created with the participation of local partners who, by submitting events, present their proposals relating to the Tourist Product Program.

May

“Codes” Festival of Traditional and Avantgarde Music

“Codes” Festival of Traditional and Avantgarde Music is an international event devoted to the idea of combining the archaic and the new in music. Presentday composers and improvising musicians often formally and thematically allude to archaic musical forms and seemingly antiquated sonic patterns. The mixture of two distinctive canons of aesthetics forms a completely unique listening experience where the magic of archaic melodies and the artistry of contemporary music co-exist. The festival provides a rare opportunity for excellent contemporary music composers, representatives of the avant-garde jazz, traditional musicians, and artists reconstructing old music to meet together and co-work. Organizer: Centre for Intercultural Creative Initiatives CROSSROADS 12 Peowiaków Street 20-007 Lublin

City of poetry: Lublin Literary Encounters

The Lublin Literary Encounters has been around since 2008. It has created a space for discussion about poetry and for meetings with poets but has also triggered a variety of social and artistic activities that promote poetry. The festival is held in several locations: universities, schools, libraries, culture centres, welfare centres, therapeutic centres, temples, cafés, open city spaces, in the backyards, and also online. Organizer: Grodzka Gate – NN Theater Center 21 Grodzka Street 20-112 Lublin

International Renaissance Festival

The festival draws much of its inspiration from the culture of the nobility, or from the sources of “living history.” During the festival, Lubliners and tourists get acquainted with the best of early culture, with particular emphasis on the local assets of the Lublin Renaissance. The International Renaissance Festival is a several-day encounter with dance, music, and theatre of the Jagiellonian and other past eras. Organizer: Belriguardo Foundation - window to history and art 6 Brylantowa Street, Dominów 20-112 Lublin

June

Bridge of Culture

The Bridge of Culture is a cross-discipline project that transfers artistic action and education into urban space. The venue is the 1909 historic bridge on the Bystrzyca river designed by Marian Lutosławski. Apart from its symbolic role of merging different environments and communities, the structure physically links four districts of Lublin: Śródmieście, Bronowice, Kośminek and Za Cukrownią. The programme of the Bridge of Culture is designed together with the local residents and the District Councils and is viewed as “a local festivity.” For three summer months, the bridge is appropriated by artists and Lubliners to become a venue of workshop sessions, concerts, exhibitions, screenings, and dance parties. The summer programme of the Bridge of Culture has virtually revived this part of the city culturewise by becoming a popular meeting point for residents and visitors. Organizer: Centre for Culture in Lublin 12 Peowiaków Street 20-007 Lublin

The Night of Culture

The Night of Culture inspires both Lubliners and tourists to explore the charm of the city by artistically enlivening its main streets as well as back alleys, its less prominent districts and somewhat forgotten squares. During this special Night Lublin does not sleep as its residents‘ cultural sensibilities are reawakened, encouraging even the most passive and culture-wary of inhabitants to be active, to stay awake and be day and night receptive to artistic and cultural initiatives. During the Night of Culture all Lublin’s cultural institutions throw their doors wide open, offering not just free but also specially commissioned events to cultural night-crawlers walking the city’s streets till the early hours of the morning. Lublin’s cityscape – its urban setting – becomes the Night’s number one stage, where world-famous theatres share spotlight with buskers, and where symphonic music be- comes intertwined with jazz, folk, rock and dance-inducing electronica. Anything can happen and everything happens: concerts on rooftops, in courtyards and in squares, performances and happenings in backstreets, visual art in the city’s main artery, theatre plays in Old Town’s gates or in the city’s fountains, fashion shows on the stairs leading to public insti tutions, drive-in cinemas, film screenings in the parking lot of the City Hall. All the events – rising in numbers every year – attract tens of thousands of visitors. Organizer: Workshops of Culture in Lublin 5A Grodzka Street 20-112 Lublin

Festival of Lublin legends

The main goal of the event is to familiarize the inhabitants of Lublin with city legends as well as less known facts from the history of Lublin. The Old Town Square and the adjacent streets become a place of staging, theater and music activities recreating the events and atmosphere of the past. For the duration of the Festival, the Old Town Square turns into a magic melting pot of events and heroes of Lublin's more or less known stories: from the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Enlightenment, Baroque and the interwar period. Participants have the opportunity to see what life was like in the old days, learn about unknown historical facts from the life of a city that has been legged for centuries, take part in interactive and theatrical activities from bygone eras

East of Culture - The Different Sounds

The Different Sounds Art’n’Music Festival is a meeting of world-class artists that represent various nationalities and practise diverse music styles. The organisers scout rock, reggae, electro and the classical musicians. What inspires the Festival programmers the most is the liminal space where genres, traditions and cultural influences overlap. For that reason, they provide the original, premium artistic quality and unforgettable aesthetic experiences. So far the Festival’s line-up has included the following artists: Einstürzende Neubauten, Goldfrapp, Tony Allen, Asian Dub Foundation, Yat-Kha, The Tiger Lilies. Equally inspiring is the Festival’s very name – the idea of the „East of Culture” that enables to bring to Lublin the most exciting acts from among others countries such as Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia. Focused on music, the Festival is a multi-disciplinary event: apart from concerts, there are organised debates concerning European identity, workshops and exhibitions as well as a special “Little Different Sounds” programme dedicated to children. Organizer: Centre for Culture in Lublin 12 Peowiaków Street 20-007 Lublin

Multicultural Lublin

The festival highlights the cultural diversity of present-day Lublin. It promotes tolerance and intercultural dialogue through educational and culture-forming initiatives of a high artistic value. The organisers’ intention is to strengthen and improve social bonds and challenge stereotypes. It brings different cultures and customs as well as religious traditions together. By showing their vital nature and contribution to the city’s cultural life, the organisers seek to underline the value and importance of diversities that exist in Lublin and make it a multicultural city. The festival is co-organised by Lublin-based organisations and institutions representing various cultures and religions. Organizer: Centre for Culture in Lublin 12 Peowiaków Street 20-007 Lublin

July

Festival "Following I. B. Singer's Traces"

Ignacy Wachowiak International Folklore Days

In the early 1980s, a local folk community held an event that aimed to exhibit folk song and dance traditions from various countries. It was 1984 when the first Lublin Folklore Days were inaugurated featuring local and foreign folk performers. The keen interest of the audience and very positive feedback from the participating artists encouraged the organisers to continue the project. Since 1994, the festival has been managed by the Lublin Song and Dance Ensemble which is responsible for the programming and technical support. The event is held under the auspices of CIOFF® – the International Council of Organisations of Folklore Festivals and Folk Arts – and is ranked among the most important projects of this type in our country. The programme is alternated each year with a view to presenting either adult or children performances. The festival celebrations also take place outdoors and branch into Nałęczów, Włodawa, and Biała Podlaska. Some concerts are also held in the Lublin Old Town. Special performances, often by very exotic groups, are also staged for the child audience in the University Children’s Hospital in Lublin. The agenda of the event is also filled with dance and music workshop sessions where young artists learn Polish music, folk and national dances and show off their skills in the final gala concert. Organizer: Wanda Kaniorowa Lublin Song and Dance Ensemble 3 Żołnierzy Niepodległej Street 20-078 Lublin www.zpit.lublin.pl

The Carnaval Sztukmistrzów Festival

The Carnaval Sztukmistrzów Festival has become a magnet for performers from all over the world, not only performing circus-theatre spectacles but conducting workshops as well, dedicated  to the experienced professionals and aspiring beginners. The Festival features The Urban Highline – the biggest slackline festival in the world. Inspired by the figure  of the Magician of Lublin – the title character of Noble Laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer’s novel, the Carnaval is the biggest and the most important New Circus festival in this part of Europe. Organizer: Workshops of Culture in Lublin 5A Grodzka Street 20-112 Lublin

August

Jagiellonian Fair

The Jagiellonian Fair is the time when traditional culture is presented by the goods of music, singing and dance. Featuring concerts of both traditional music and music inspired by the heritage of past generations, the event involves dance nights where obereks, mazurkas and polkas are crucial as well as the exhibitions that show folk and the neo-folk artists. The Jagiellonian Fair is a chance to meet numerous artists, artisans, craftspeople from Central and Eastern Europe. Working closely with the top ethnologists, the organisers of the Jagiellonian Fair invite long-time practitioners and artists inspired by the folk art. Organizer: Workshops of Culture in Lublin 5A Grodzka Street 20-112 Lublin

September

The European Festival of Flavours

The Festival focuses on multiculturalism and the culinary heritage of the Lublin region. It is also the biggest culinary festival of the region, attracting residents and tourists alike through its confluence of cultural events and the traditions of Lublin’s cuisine. This is a splendid opportunity to wind down and get familiarised with assorted specialities of the Lublin region. To this end, the organisers would like visitors and local participants to slow down and unhurriedly partake in and partake of surrounding flavours and scents. Recharged, suffused with the positivity offered by a diverse set of dishes available, the tourists will return home relaxed and satisfied. The Festival’s signature features include: a wide-ranging repertoire of cultural events, including among others concert of Balkan and Ukrainian music, exhibitions and expositions, contests and culinary workshops. Organizer: Stowarzyszenie Kresowa Akademia Smaku 3 Złota Street 20-112 Lublin

Open City Festival of Art in Public Space

The idea behind the festival is to approach urban space symbolically and fill it with artistic production. Participants’ interventions are regarded as “extraneous matter ” or triggers of unexpected changes (physical and symbolic) in places considered evident, familiar and thoroughly interpreted. Art is exposed both to the transient emotions of passers-by and to the changing weather conditions. Artists are usually made to follow ideological programmes imposed by monument founders. During the Open City Festival, the artists are the movers and shakers and are given a mandate to create. Set against the historical context and contemporary problems of urban space, art is both a commentary and yet another chapter in the history of the city. An added value of the festival is the full presentation of artistic output published as a catalogue of contemporary art and permanent outdoor realisations. Organizer: Centre for Intercultural Creative Initiatives CROSSROADS 12 Peowiaków Street 20-007 Lublin

October

International Festival Theatre Confrontations

International Festival Theatre Confrontations is one of the best and most highly regarded theatre festivals in Poland. It was first organized in 1996 by the outstanding theatre directors: Janusz Opryński, Leszek Mądzik, Włodzimierz Staniewski and Tomasz Pietrasiewicz. The Festival focuses at the most intriguing and inspiring artistic achievements that provide  new ways of understanding the theatre  as a form of art. Since 2010, the main programme has been supplemented by  the “Lublin showcase”, which is a presentation of the Lublin-based theatre troupes, performers, actors, actresses, and directors. In addition, 2011 saw the inclusion of the MAAT Festival, which is built upon the idea of theatricality and the theatre stemming from the corporeal, the expression of  the body. International Festival Theatre confrontations are accompanied by series of interdisciplinary events: films – Festival cinema, concerts – musical confrontations at night, exhibitions – confrontations’ Gallery, as well as numerous debates. Organizer: Centre for Culture in Lublin 12 Peowiaków Street 20-007 Lublin

November

Falkon - Fantasy and Science Fiction Festival

Falkon is one of the biggest fantasy conventions in Poland. every year it attracts over 1000 participants. It embraces all that fits into the notion of fantasy and science fiction and as such it focuses on literature, lm, art and computer games. The three days of the convention are filled with lectures, discussions, competitions, tournaments, performances and other attractions. The distinctive feature of Falkon is that all the participants learn and have fun; they broaden their horizons, create a community of a kind, which, although colourful and varied, is bound by a common pursuit – the desire to develop their interests. The aim of the convention is to promote and preserve the interest in fantasy among both teenagers and adults. The aim of the convention is to promote and preserve the interest in the broadly defined fantasy and science fiction among both teenagers and adults by exposing them to literature, lm, art and games. Organizer: Lublin Society Of Science Fiction, " The Citadel Of Sirius” 12 Lwowska Street 20-128 Lublin

International Meeting Of Dance Theaters

The festival was inaugurated in 1997. Today, it is among the flagship cultural events in Lublin and one of the leading dance art festivals in Poland and Europe. The idea of the event is encounter and mutual inspiration with cultural diversity in parallel with the exchange of experience between Poland and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Western Europe and other parts of the world. The originators of the festival underline its universal dimension and remind us that contemporary dance is a special medium of communication: it is a fully democratic art conveying emotions fuelled by a strong intellectual message. The aim of subsequent editions has been to present the most interesting artistic productions by professional dance theatres from around the world and to promote Polish artists seeking to engage in performances and discussions. The festival also serves the exchange of experience and encourages mutual inspirations by artists representing distinct fields of art. Organizer: Lublin Dance Theater - Centre for Culture Centre for the Meeting of Cultures 12 Peowiaków Street 20-007 Lublin

December

Saint Nicholas Day International Festival of Folk Music

This is Poland’s oldest and one of the largest festivals showcasing music inspired by folklore. It was inaugurated in 1991. The goal of the event is to disseminate traditional culture in all its forms and manifestations, mainly through the presentation of innovative transformations of music folklore. By employing contemporary means, the performing artists create free and outof-the-box interpretations of folk sources. The outcome is music of an original and modern tinge but, at the same time, perpetuating the traditional values of folklore. Thanks to its compelling and diverse offer and the convivial atmosphere accompanying the festival, Saint Nicholas Day has earned the opinion of an important cultural event and one of the most interesting and prestigious feasts of folk music in Poland. Organizer: Association of Folk Movement Animators Academic Culture Centre "Chatka Żaka" 16 Radziszewskiego Street 20-031 Lublin http://www.mikolajki.folk.pl/

Christmas Festival

The Christmas Festival refers to the tradition of the nativity scene. During the festival, it becomes a living space filled with merry carolling. The idea of the event is to create the festive and magical aura of Christmas in the heart of Lublin. Every year the nativity scene is re-arranged, and the city is decorated with colourful Christmas illumination and Christmas trees. These December days offer a great atmosphere in the unworldly setting of Lublin’s Old Town. Traditionally, the festival opens during the Old Town Christmas Eve organised by the local Dominican friars. The scene hosts games and competitions for children, Christmas concerts by popular performers; it is also a meeting place for the residents and visitors throughout the holiday season, uniting everyone in singing and rejoicing. Organizer: Lublin City Office 1 Króla Władysława Łokietka Square 20-109 Lublin

Municipal New Year’s Eve Party

The Municipal New Year’s Eve Party is a fixed item on the agenda of municipal festivities. Every year Lubliners welcome the New Year together. All those who dare to spend the New Year’s Eve in the open can expect special attractions: concerts of music stars, comedy performances, dance music played by top DJs. At midnight, the representatives of the city authorities say “Happy New Year” to all party participants in the main city square. Organizer: Centre for Culture in Lublin 12 Peowiaków Street 20-007 Lublin