AROUND TRADITION

The "Around Tradition" Project was conceived from our conviction that identity, knowledge and esprit de corps (sense of belonging) to a particular tradition are among the most important social and cultural factors, shaping both individual personalities and social groups. The series of meeting named "Around Tradition" is an artistic, educational and research project, an attempt to show and document vanishing systems of behavior, ceremonies and traditional practices, then not so long ago used to be common in various parts of Poland; another task is to answer some important questions about contemporary forms and functions of tradition. Within the project we want to inspire ourselves and other participants on reasons and results of contemporary alarming social phenomena, such as weakening of inter-generational and social bonds, lack of sense of identity with one's own roots or vanishing of forms of communal spending time, visible especially in the areas where generational continuity has been broken because of social, political or historical events.

The project includes:

- regular meetings combining promotion and presentation of knowledge on tradition by invited guests (such as discussions storytelling, film projections etc.) with practice (workshops);

- presentation of artistic works and activities (among others, concerts, open presentation of methods, exhibitions, promotions of books, music and films);

- excursions "to people", combining element of scientific research trips to learn and document tradition with activities of restoration of memory and awareness of vanishing customs among the visited habitants.

Besides documentalist and cultural researchers the project is also attended by artists dealing with broadly understood traditional culture (including folk artists), experts on tradition and the interested participants.