For the fourth time the programme of Malta Festival Poznań has been built around a guiding theme: the Idiom. This year it is called oh man, oh machine / człowiek-maszyna and focuses on the relationships between people and machines with the latter being a synonym for widely defined technology. Technological advancement has been accompanying humans since the dawn of history being one of the key elements and conditions of civilisational growth. But never before has technology revolutionised the lives of so many people to such an extent as over the course of the last several decades. Different kinds of machines save and sustain lives. They relieve people from heavy jobs. They provide entertainment and pleasure, facilitate communication and ensure our safety and wellbeing. At the same time, however, they control us or even incapacitate us. They appropriate our time and change our relations with other people. In the profuse and highly diversified programme designed by Romeo Castellucci, the Festival Curator, you will find a wide selection of performances, installations and projects referring to a lesser or greater extent to this fascinating subject, brought to you by some of the most brilliant representatives of different areas of art.
This year, for the very first time Malta will last for as long as four weeks, until 20 July when you will be able to see and listen to ATOMS FOR PEACE, a new group formed by Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke who will be accompanied, among other musicians, by one of the best bass players in the world: Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers. This will be their first and only concert in Poland. An additional attraction will be Chan Marshall, known as CAT POWER. This fantastic singer from America will also be performing in our country for the first time. But already this Friday (28 June) you can enjoy another extremely special event: the legendary KRAFTWERK in concert featuring spectacular 3D visuals.
A new Malta feature is GENERATOR MALTA, a programme abounding in artistic events and social and artistic participative activities aimed at a very wide audience. The central venue for these events is Plac Wolności where we have built 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 bookshop 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. We greatly look forward to seeing you at the numerous meetings, workshops, discussions and five o’clock dances to live music.
Whilst not every performance or concert may be to the likes of everybody, everybody will find something to enjoy. Our festival team and our fantastic volunteers are here to assist you in choosing the right events and designing your individual festival pathway. You will also find our programme on www.malta-festival.pl, on the festival posters and in the leaflets that are available in all the festival locations, in CIM and in Empik stores.
Regular items in the GENERATOR MALTA programme and other attractions in Plac Wolności:
10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Let’s start the day with some yoga and tai-chi. You are welcome to exercise with us every morning. Please bring your own exercise mat.
10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Children-Friendly City. This is a special zone for children where they can play happily and take part in various stimulating workshops. Every day, in the children’s corner, featuring Smart furniture provided by VOX, children can take part in activities that will develop their spatial imaginativeness and creativity.
Noon – 3 p.m. Silent Malta. Our recipe for chilling out in the early afternoon: a comfortable hammock + wireless headphones presenting two channels. On channel 1 you can listen to some excellent radio plays from the archives of Polskie Radio (Smakosz, Początek sezonu by Teatrzyk Zielone Oko, Salto, Schizofrenia, Z głębokości wód and Andy) and the consecutive episodes of Miejska Powieść Odcinkowa read by Magdalena Popławska and Andrzej Chyra, written especially for Malta Festival. This is our joint project with Nowy Teatr, Warsaw, and Porgram Trzeci Polskiego Radia. The authors of the particular episodes are Sylwia Chutnik, Bartosz Żurawiecki, Tomasz Man, Małgorzata Sikorska-Miszczuk and Krzysztof Bizio. On channel 2 you can enjoy music sets brought to you by Anna Nowaczyk.
10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Premises:Bakery. The festival bakery offering fresh bread made from traditional recipes.
10 a.m. – 10 p.m. Premises:Kitchen. Our bistro operated by culinary art aficionados. The meals are made exclusively from products provided by local suppliers.
10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Wolnobuk. The festival bookshop and reading room.
5 p.m. – 8 p.m. Five O’clock Dance. If you enjoy some good old dancing in pairs come dancing every afternoon to a wide selection of hits performed live. Bring a dancing partner or meet one here.
From 11:59 p.m. Silent Disco. This has already become a traditional way to end the festival day: dancing in wireless headphones to a selection of music played live by DJs on three concurrent channels. (NB: to borrow headphones you must show your ID or driving licence)
OTHER RECOMMENDED EVENTS on 24 June
Noon – 3 p.m. (pl. Wolności) Wolnoart. A series of recycling workshops during which old objects brought by the participants will be transformed in line with the hottest designer trends. (The subsequent workshops will be held on 25 and 26 June)
Noon and 5 p.m. (Pawilon Nowa Gazownia) brzUCHO. A performance for children aged from 6 months to 3 years.
12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. (Pawilon Nowa Gazownia) Pstryk! Abecadło. A concert for children featuring songs that stimulate the imagination and emotions with lyrics based on poems by Julian Tuwim and melodies composed by Jarek Kordaczuk to commemorate the Year of Tuwim.
5 p.m. (Stara Rzeźnia). The opening of the exhibition Transnature is here presenting works that refer to or stem from cyber ecology and involve viewers. (NB: the last group of visitors will be admitted at 8:30 p.m.)
7 p.m. (Aula Artis) Nora. A contemporary interpretation of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House by the Flemish company TG STAN. (Another performance will be given on 25 June)
9:30 p.m. (Plac Wolności, Theatre Stage by the fountain) Tu mówi chór: tylko 6 do 8 godzin, tylko 6 do 8 godzin. This is the first of three shows directed by Marta Górnicka. 26 women of different ages and from different backgrounds whisper and shout emotional and astute commentaries about the surrounding reality. The performance has been enjoying enthusiastic reviews in Poland and abroad.
10:30 p.m. (Plac Wolności, Club Stage by Arkadia) GRABEK. A concert by Wojciech Grabek, one of the most interesting younger representatives of Poznań’s alternative music scene.