sztandary dla Śląska

cycle up residency

in cooperation with BoMiasto, Miasto Ogrodów and Goethe Institut

July/August 2024

Square picture with a white background, pink lettering in three lines flush right at the top: “cycle up”, artist residency in KATOWICE, July/August 2024, Goethe Institute, BoMiasto. A dozen or so people on bicycles, all black and white and sketchy in different styles, riding in different directions, getting smaller towards the back. White tile with pink lettering, three different fonts: Polish rower, from English to rover = to roam, wander around, kolo in Silesian language = bike, from Polish wheel/disc, in German Fahrrad.

As a passioniste cyclist, I followed the invitation to the cycle up residency in Katowice with pleasure!

Using cycling as a method of research, of understanding the in between and ultimately, as a tool for transformation. I spent a month in Katowice, cycling, rovering around the area and learning about the history of Silesia, the mining culture and the transformation the region goes through (again). How to change from the mines to ecological ways of life? How to acknowledge history and identity without stopping changes to happen? How to think about the future of the region? And how to do research by bike, rovering around, going by koło?

Screenshot of a facebook post, left narrow column with intro and photos of other announcements. On the right is a post by BoMiasto, with a small text in Polish and the following links in blue: Dom Slaski, Katowice Miasto Ogrodow, Goethe Institute and #cycle up A large, colorful, landscape-format photo in which a person with short brown hair and a black T-shirt is holding a square piece of cloth against a green background. White at the top and blue at the bottom with four chimney-like illustrations, it reads: Szeszc Boze. Below it are three small square photos in the section where people are sitting on white plastic chairs and seem to be listening with interest.

A talk together with artist Witold Szwedkowski was held on, 7.8.24 at 6pm in the garden of Domu Śląskiego.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1588526928361309/

A final event, a critical mass from Hałda Murcki to Nikiszowie, by bikes and with the flags that I created as an homage to the historical miners sztandary flags with local guide Grzegorz Franki had to be cancelled due to weather conditions, but might happen in the future.

Of course, I was cycling back home from Katowice to Dresden after the residency.

Screenshot of an Instagram Story, top left a small photo of Ivon and irenemelix (48 sec). The photo of the story is divided vertically, on the left you can see a long, asphalted road without a central reservation and fields in front of a greenish sky in a long flight, on it a pictogram of a person riding a road bike. On the right is a portrait with a black helmet, cycling goggles and a black rain jacket. The person is smiling and probably riding a bicycle. Underneath, the text is highlighted in white: Now heading back home...cycling through Silesia and reached Opole after a rainy afternoon on the bike. Still thinking about the beautiful sncopunters and the next potential opportunities to wave the flags! Underneath is a black bar with typical Instagram icons for sending, Facebook, highlighting and more.

My thanks go especially to Kuba, Oskar, Sebastian and Natalia for welcoming me in Katowice, Adele for the organization and everyone else from BoMiasto und Katowice Miasto Ogrodów who made the residency possible. Special thanks also to the Museum Historii Katowic, Joanna Tofilska-Dzióbek, who gave me access to their sztandary/ flags in the archive. Thanks to Grzegorz Franki for the readiness to share his knowledge. Thanks to Geothe Institute!

 

Landscape format color photo showing a row of streets with old building facades and a few trees in the background, cobblestones and asphalt in the foreground, with two people riding along on bicycles, facing the camera. The person on the left is dressed in black and is riding a dark gravel bike, while the person on the right is wearing a green T-shirt, red shorts and is sitting on a red mountain bike. Flags are attached to the back of both bikes and are blowing in the wind. On the left, the words “cisnymy furt” can be seen on a pale pink background. Landscape format color photo of two people on bicycles from behind. The person on the right, dressed in black with short brown hair, has a large, pale pink flag attached to the back of his bike, which is waving behind him in the wind and reads “Cysnymy furt”. Drawn fists are stretched out in all four corners of the large square of fabric. The bundle-clad person with short brown hair and beard on the rear wheel pulls a somewhat smaller, dark purple flag behind him, on which something is written in a circle in Polish script in white lettering.

 

https://www.wkatowicach.eu/informacje/w-katowicach/Artystka-z-Niemiec-stworzyla-sztandary-na-rowery.-Slask-ja-zainspirowal-Zdjecia/idn:7091

https://slaskaopinia.pl/2024/08/07/sztandary-na-rowery-eko-peleton-przejedzie-przez-katowice/#google_vignette

https://www.facebook.com/bomiasto/

https://katowice.naszemiasto.pl/w-katowicach-zainicjowano-projekt-ktory-laczy-rowery-i/ar/c1-9770315

In the film, a person in a portrait with short brown hair, a silver earring and a black sweater speaks first. “Irène Mélix” is shown below her and a line in Polish. There are flags in the background. Then a person with a green T-shirt and short brown hair speaks, “Sebastian Pyplacz” appears in the fade-in. Further cuts show various people dressed in summer clothes looking at flags attached to the back of bicycles. At one point, Iréne Mélix holds a flag up to the camera which reads: “Meldujemy zakonczenie rozmow”. At the end of the film, the people shown ride along the street on bicycles, the flags waving in the wind.