ARTFORPEACE
The artforpeace project was initiated by Prof. Joachim Lothar Gartner and Mag. Magdalena Wenta in 2014 as a result of the first military conflict in Ukraine.
The continuation of the war on 24 February 2022 has shown us that our project is of particular importance. Cooperation between states is a major challenge. Art can play an important role here and raise people's awareness of many aspects, as well as bring foreign cultures closer together and connect them.
We hope that our efforts will also contribute to using art to counter the current potential for aggression in the world.
born in Gdańsk (Poland), grew up in the Austrian capital Vienna, where she lived from 1981 to 2021. She graduated in art history from the University of Vienna. Since 1999 she has been working as a curator, organiser and idea generator of international exhibition projects, mainly dedicated to contemporary art.
Due to the difficult pandemic situation, in 2021 she began to engage in book projects and film reports in the field of intercultural dialogue. She is currently working also in Gdańsk (Poland) as an organiser of integration projects combining language and art.
born as a twin during the war in Steinschönau, today Kamenický Šenov, in the Czech Republic. Immediately after birth, the mother had to leave her homeland with the two twin brothers. In 1949, the children's father was finally found in Vienna and the family was reunited in Austria. He received his artistic training in Vienna, Augsburg and Munich. In 2005, Joachim Lothar Gartner was awarded the title of professor by the Federal President of the Republic of Austria. From 2006 to 2012 he held the presidency of the Vienna Künstlerhaus. From 2012 to 2020 he was president of Bildrecht Vienna.
Together with his twin brother Hansjürgen Gartner, the two artists set „Zeichen für Frieden” (en.: signs for peace) wherever possible, especially in talks and in the catalogues to art exhibitions that they organise in large numbers.
born and raised in Gdańsk (Poland), after graduating from high school, Aleks decided to broaden her horizons by moving abroad. In 2023, she finished the Film and TV Production at the University of York. Their media interests include genre cinema, documentary, feminist theory and cinematography. Aleks spends her free time playing music and doing photography.
In this project, as well as their daily life, Aleks’s key goals are nurturing human connections to nature and amplifying the voices of marginalised people. She aims to encourage and cultivate sensitivity and mutual empathy.
lives in Gdańsk (Poland) since 1984; graduated from the Faculty of Transport Economics, University in Gdańsk. Immediately after graduation she gained professional experience in various commercial banks, working for 12 years as a director of the Gdansk branch of Bank Spółdzielczy in Sztum.
A change of the area and a new challenge brought her the work in an advertising and art agency in Sopot, where she specialized in comprehensive support of conferences and cultural events. There she was able to use her excellent skills in building contacts and maintaining good relationships with clients. She loves the varied, cross-cultural work in this field.
is a graduate of the Nicolaus Copernicus University (Geopgraphy studies). She combined her education and passion for untouched nature with her professional and social work and the challenges of new global trends. Co-organiser of many international tourist, sport, social and cultural events. Co-founder of the Romuald Koperski Foundation in 2011.
Romuald Koperski was an inspiring force behind projects for peaceful dialogue, building correct international relations, especially in Eastern Europe, and intercultural reconciliation through culture, art, word and image. He died in Gdańsk in 2019.
The statutory objectives of the Foundation include:
The promotion of intercultural dialogue, enabling the exchange of experiences of different cultures throughout the world and especially in Central and Eastern Europe.
To establish an international cultural forum in the Foundation's current space in Gdańsk, on Rolna 8 Street, and at the same time to build and manage an artistic and educational film centre in the Kashubian Switzerland, in Łączyńska Huta, Chmielno district.
All pioneering activities aimed at improving the living conditions of the population by upgrading the state of the natural environment, as well as the organisation of other events promoting life in harmony with nature.
.... and founder of the Foundation together with Dorota Litwinska and Krystyna Jaetke. The Foundation's council members are Malgorzata Litwinska, Maciej Barlak and Szymon Ziolkowski.
A CONFERENCE and NVC (Nonviolent Communication) WORKSHOPS were held on September 7-8, 2023, in cooperation with representatives from science and art, from Poland, Germany, Austria and Lithuania. The conference was under the patronage of Ambassador Dr. Emil Brix, Director of the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna.
In the following years, the initiative will be continued cyclically with an art festival. Art as a unifying element between multilingual ethnic groups and religions gives us the opportunity to seek dialogue, even if the chances of finding a common language are very limited. The motto of our project is THE ART OF UNDERSTANDING, i.e. the art of building bridges between people and nations.
