The three performances held on 22, 27, and 28 September in Warsaw inaugurate the second run of the participative performative projectSpace®opera, which during the 14th edition Little Warsaw Autumn in 2024 drew a map of local Warsaw sites resounding with sounds co-created by children, teenagers, teachers, and artists.

In the project’s second edition, children, teenagers and adults supported by teachers and artists are designing a musical and literary map of Poland, presenting themes and cultural motifs closely related to the subject of the natural environment – but not only. The map will also promote selected topics such as the languages of national minorities. Specific sites and objects have again been used as points of departure. These can be urban sculptures, buildings, architectural elements and other artefacts, sites and objects of cultural significance which contribute in various ways to the atmosphere and history of the given part of Poland. For this artistic walking tour, now extended to all of Poland’s territory, the sites are selected by local groups of children and teenagers working under the guidance of teacher/artist/composer teams. The young participants research their selected site, sculpture or monument, and create a mini audio drama based on factual, documented stories. Drawing inspiration from work with the children, the composer co-creates with them the sound component of the drama. Every site will be placed on theSpace®opera 2.0 map of places retold in sound. In each case, the tale will be presented in two language versions: in Polish and in the language of the given national minority, as well as in the Polish Sign Language, and made available at spaceropera.pl.

The Warsaw premieres, held on 22, 27, and 28 September, including one event at the National Museum – a place of symbolic significance for Poland’s national culture and visual arts – inaugurate this touring project, held cyclically and radiating in different directions, towards the places where more premieres of audio dramas and performances will be held in October and November. These are: Stary Jarosław/Borkowo, Sławno, Wiry near Poznań, Hajnówka, ZduńskaWola, Przemyśl, and Grodzisk Mazowiecki.

Anna Kierkosz