Lodź: We chose to work together with none but the best

The rumours of the Košice project also reached Lodź, the second largest city in Poland. Their young project team catches our fancy when obeying the sense of the saying ´it is better to see once than hear a hundred of times´ as they decided to see the plans of the Košice project team with their own eyes.

“Our city is among the hottest candidates from Poland. That´s why we chose to work together with the best applicants for the nomination only. This, in particular, made us arrive in Košice where we would like to establish very close cooperation with your city. We had learned about your project before we came over and it had really appealed to us,” said Krzysztof Candrowicz, the director of the project team in Lodź.

The appointment has revealed a few characteristics which the two project teams have in common. They both have a similar approach to the project-making as they aim at innovations, creativity and breaking down of cultural stereotypes. “We agreed on some programme exchanges. As early as this year young film directors from Poland should be given a chance to present their films in Košice”, Alena Vachnová from the Košice project team disclosed one of the specific outputs of the appointment.

Lodź is applying for the prestige title of the European Capital of Culture for as late as 2016. The Polish application for the nomination was initiated by a well-established and functioning non-profit organisation called Lodź Art Centre receiving supported of the city. The Polish partners take the application for the ECOC nomination really serious. The very act of making the application is preceded by about one and half year long promotion campaign. Their plan is to launch the preparation of the application project well in advance, even this year.

This nearly one million Polish city annually holds 40 international festivals of culture. Culture feels at home in this city which was before 1991 known mainly for its textile industry.

“The Polish partners were especially impressed by the project of rebuilding the barracks. Lodź plans to apply a similar project to the industrial halls which were left abandoned after the close-down of the textile factories“, added Vachnová.