This year’s edition of MALTA FESTIVAL POZNAŃ will be the longest in the twenty-three years of the festival’s existence lasting for four weeks: from 24 June to 20 July. But the major novelty will be the launch of GENERATOR MALTA, a programme abounding with events aimed at the building and rebuilding of social and interpersonal relations. With our open artistic events and participative activities we would like to encourage people to open themselves to others, to establish local communities and to reclaim the urban space.
The centre of these events will be located in Plac Wolności. This is no coincidence; the choice of the site is meaningful and symbolic. Referring to its name which means Freedom Square we created the GENERATOR MALTA catchphrase: “NA PLACU WOLNO…” In Polish the word “wolno” has a double meaning. First of all, it means that you are free to or allowed to do something and, secondly, it means slowly. Hence the catchphrase may be understood literally as “In the square you are free to…” or convey the sense that certain things are slow in the square. Consequently, it serves to encourage people to be out in the square, to be together with others and to participate in the exciting festival activities exchanging thoughts, skills, objects, interests and ideas. On the other hand, it is also a reference to the philosophy of Slow Life and the revisiting of values that are vital to our sense of harmony, happiness and security.
Plac Wolności is the heart of the festival: a venue for artistic events, for meeting people and chilling out. Together with architects Jola Starzak and Dawid Strębicki of Atelier Starzak Strebicki – Pracownia Architktury and with young designers from the School of Form, we have converted the square into a green micro-city that is open to all and features a bakery, an eco market place and a restaurant serving healthy food. There is also a book shop and reading room, a chill out zone and two stages: a theatre one and a club one where we will present various shows, films and concerts. In one of the GENERATOR projects, together with the local residents and one of the GENERATOR partners, Slow Life Magazyn, who supplied forty trees, we transformed the stone-paved square into a garden. In this verdant environment you can start the day with yoga or tai-chi, buy healthy food and locally made bread or lie down in a hammock and listen to a Teatr Polskiego Radia radio play or read a book. Our GENERATOR partners are also organising a flea market where you can swap books, CDs and DVDs, clothes and accessories as well as hand-crafted objects and other useful items. Our restaurant is open all day offering healthy and delicious food made by culinary bloggers whom we chose in a special contest. In the afternoon you can attend a variety of meetings, for instance with Jacek Żakowski and his series Wokół demokracji (Around Democracy), culinary and handicraft workshops and five o’clock dances to live music. Our night time proposals include theatre and film shows, concerts and the Silent Disco where you can dance the night away without disturbing anybody because the music is played on wireless headphones. Admittance to all these events is free.
What is extremely significant regarding GENERATOR MALTA is the involvement of our GENERATOR partners – many wonderful, dynamic, ingenious and optimistic people and organisations.
We are confident that the lively and green Freedom Square will fill us all with positive energy. Let’s meet in Freedom Square because that’s where YOU ARE FREE TO TAKE THINGS SLOWLY…