Shortcuts #8
Takeover by Vi Lever På Polsk
We are kicking of the new season of Tarantula Authors and Art with our series ‘Shortcuts,' the end-of-month 6-question interview on our Substack platform, followed by a six-day daily takeover of our Instagram account by the featured artists and galleries. Please take a moment to click here to subscribe to our Instagram if you haven't already. Now, without further ado, please welcome the Polish-Danish self-appointed guerilla gallery, Vi Lever På Polsk!
Amidst the Danish notion of hygge, the Polish artistic duo Magda Buczek and Bartek Arobal Kociemba, who immigrated to Denmark, struggled to establish their own place in Copenhagen's art scene. Searching for their own version of hygge led them to create a guerilla gallery that disrrupted the comfort zone of the Danish capital by throwing parties, congregating for rituals and inviting voices that have not been heard before. The name of their organization "Vi Lever På Polsk" (VLP) refers to the term used for Polish immigrants who were unable to marry in Protestant Denmark due to their Catholic faith.They had to live unwed. Yet, VLP succeeded in something their XIX-century forebears were unable to do: they bridged the gap between the two cultures.
We first met the dynamic founders of VLP at the Juxtapose Art Festival in Århus, Denmark. An invitation came to all artists attending to meet around a ceremonial fire outside of the exhibitor’s hall. As we gathered around the warmth, their abiilty to engage the community was evident as we all whispered into the microphone words of disatisfaction with our own individual artistic practices or the world as a whole; our bodies moving in a cirlce, giggles, tears, screams, and more gasoline added, prompting the fire to dance in all directions, evoking our sense of connection.
As if that witchy ceremony wasn’t enough, the following night they invited us to a performance by another member of their collective, Vala Foltyn, a queer witch, shapeshifter, and lyrical choreographer who ran for mayor of Krakow as a gender nonconforming witch in 2018. In the pitch-black room, with her slender frail physique, we were mesmerized by her performance and felt her sorrow as she muttered, "I have crossed the Baltic Sea. Krakow, you have exiled the smartest of your kin." In her bio, she stated that she migrated to Denmark in 2019 owing to political changes in her home country, Poland. VLP collects the misfits, the courageous, the adventerous, all with interesting stories and ready to spite the world with color and performance.
When we met in the corridor of the Supermarket Art Fair this year, they felt like old friends we were delighted to see. We instantly expected a party from them, and they did not disappoint. Magda and Bartek brought with them a diaspora of artists, including Barbara Kai Kaniewska, Boris Peianov and Agnieszka Szczotka, who helped them design a booth shrouded in doiled curtains to pay homage to their heritage. Szczotka, came straight from the Venice Biennale where she performed "Review" curated by Alice Amati at the Mare Karina Gallery. She mesmerized us with another show in Stockholm, "The Deceiver," which she first exhibited in 2022 in VLP's space, under the curation of Marta Czyż, who had the honor of curating the Polish Pavillion this year. Peianov treated us to a reading of his poetry and dotted drawings amidst the lace drapes. Bartek's other-wordly installation "Feelers," with sound by Stefan Węglowski, Magda's soft sculpture "Motherhorse" and Barbara Kai Kaniewska’s photo “Flightless Bird” of a ghost in the Danish suburbs, and architect and designer Mikkel Nielsen's light sculpture "Liquid Stone," pleasantly surprised us within the booth's maze.. Their wonderfully orchestrated creative mayhem inspired everyone at the fair to reconnect with their inner muse.
Knowing that they always deliver a good time to their audience, we are excited to welcome VLP Gallery to take over our Instagram Pages for the next six days. We are giving you a chance, dear readers, to become a VIP at VLP’s party. Just click on the link to join our Instagram page, if you already haven’t.
1. Tell us where and how Vi Lever På Polsk was founded and with what purpose.
Vi Lever På Polsk was founded nearly 4 years ago by two Polish visual artists Magda Buczek and Bartek Arobal Kociemba. We shared the studio with two other artists and felt a need for greater visibility for our own practices as well as to be and operate more like other artists in Copenhagen, where we live.
VLP kicked off out of a need to create a space of belonging for ourselves that gradually evolved into a project based on the art of hosting, which further evolved into a unique and diverse community. We firmly believe in the meaning of micro-change, individual resistance and creating a space for others to be heard and seen.
2. What kind of conversations does your organization hope to spark?
We want to have a conversation about what seems to be uncomfortable, shamful, embarrassing, problematic, difficult, urgent, unclear, unseen, discredited. Having said that, it is also always important to celebrate and rejoice in the joy of being together. We don’t underestimate the value of a good party.
3. Tell us about your program/projects.
Our projects often relate to seasonal cycles, which is why every year around November, Spring and Sankt Hans, VLP organizes a group show and party/or a performative ritual with fire. We also participate in art fairs and festivals like Juxtapose Aarhus and Supermarket Stockholm, PRIDE Malmo, and are on the lookout for other international opportunities.
4. Is there room for international collaborations within your collective?
We are examples of international collaborations at all levels. Our partners are from different cultures, we live outside of our homeland, speak a language other than our original one, and being international, migrant, foreign, expat, the ’Other’ is a part of our DNA.
5. Tell us about your future plans/projects/collaborations/exhibitions…
We are preparing to celebrate our fourth birthday on November 8th. Save the date for a group show, performances, and a party. We will also share some exciting news about VLP.
6. As an organization what excites, worries, or keeps you connected?
The most rewarding part is getting feedback from our community and watching it grow. Every project undertaken so far is an exciting journey filled with ideas, people, circumstances. We try to adjust the dynamics of VLP to our own practices, as well as the rhythm of the seasons and natural shifts in the world, including crisis situations and political threats around us.
For further information about Vi Lever På Polsk, please visit their website and Insta page, but first, spend the next week with Vi Lever På Polsk by following their takeover of our Instagram page!