The Wasteland Biennale – first edition of an art event dedicated to spaces that have no or lost their use value, but often have high natural, aesthetic and ecological value. These are places that I explore at every opportunity, so when I came across an open call dedicated to these places on the Internet, I sent in my application. I took part in the project as part of the exploration of the area of artistic exploration Urban Space * Immersion.

The initial stage of Biennale involved working in groups (4) under the guidance of tutors, discussions, exchange of experiences and ideas around the main theme and what could or should be done on the chosen territory. My group worked with a plot of land located in the very center of the city, at the intersection of Marszałkowska and Świętokrzyska Streets, right next to the entrance to the Świętokrzyska Metro station. We were interested in the history and context of that place, and what is currently located on it – the devastated Miniature Park.

The plot is privately owned, acquired as an inheritance. However, in the city’s urban development plans, the plot functions as a section of Swietokrzyski Park without possibility of permanent development, which turned out to be out of favor with the new owner. So he placed strange, temporary structures like kebab / waffle / ice cream stalls or even an airplane at the place, causing spatial chaos. In June 2021, aforementioned Miniature Park with miniatures of Warsaw’s pre-war, never-rebuilt architecture also went there. Left unattended, the miniatures were destroyed and turned, like the plot of land, into a visual and functional wasteland.

The small activities we finally decided to undertake as part of the Wasteland Biennale in the area we chose, were aimed at highlighting its history and presence in the very center of Warsaw, as well as the Miniature Park, which – despite the huge amount of money and work put into its creation – is no longer useful.
We organized a vernissage, where we could admire dilapidated miniatures, trash and liquor bottles behind demarcation posts set up like in a gallery or museum, instead of works of art.

In addition to the vernissage, we also prepared a billboard, which we then hung on the scaffolding standing on the plot, dedicated to this type of information media. It was not an easy thing to do – due to the size, our entire team of 8 people actually worked on the billboard. The photos of the arcades placed on the billboard are selected fragments of one of the damaged models from the Miniature Park – the pre-war Guest House / Market behind the Iron Gate. The arcades along with merchant stands and signs on the model show: “colonial store”, “brush and shuvax store”, “seamless corset store”, “sale of lard and suet”, “postal herring store” contrast tremendously with the strongly contemporary, developer character of the billboard and the words “LOCALS FOR RENT”. This is the title we decided to give to our project. A slogan that attracts the eye, and underneath it, instead of a visualization of a modern housing development – premises from the pre-war era, in addition, in a state of devastation.

Another task carried out as part of the Biennial was the design of “postcards from Warsaw” that visitors to our events could take with them as souvenirs. The photos for them depict the destroyed miniature models in the Miniature Park located in the area of our chosen wasteland. Photo and graphic design: Katarzyna Kowalska.

A plot plan drawn up by Michelle Mbazuigwe and the layout of the various elements and miniatures from the Miniature Park was a great help and guide in embracing the area chosen by our group. A collection of 6 bird’s-eye photographs of the place, taken over the past 11 years, is also an interesting juxtaposition (source: internet). They show how the development of the terrain at the intersection of Marszałkowska and Świętokrzyska Streets has changed due to the activities of the private owner. The plan and collected photos of the area helped us inventory the objects, estimate how much lighting and fence posts we would need to give our plot character of an art gallery with unusual “works” on display.

More about the whole project Wasteland Biennale  on the website of the Cultural Foundation ‘Grupa w działaniu’ and on FB.

Text by Barbara Jędrzejczyk about the history of the wasteland we chose in the center of Warsaw and the Miniature Park located here.

At the end, as part of the summary of our activities of the Wasteland Biennale, each of the 4 groups had the opportunity to talk about their work. The meeting was held at the ZODIAK Warsaw Architecture Pavilion.

Team members

Kamila Szejnoch – tutor, 

Maciej Bykowski, Nawojka Gurczyńska, Barbara Jędrzejczyk, Katarzyna Kowalska, Michelle Mbazuigwe, Barbara Pazio, Gabriela Piwar.

Coordinating and leading the process

Fundacja Grupa w działaniu

Martyna Cziszewska-Klejnowska

Małgosia Załuska

Implementation

November 2022 – December 2022

Warsaw

Media partner of the project

Architektura & Biznes

Project partner

ZODIAK Warszawski Pawilon Architektury

Project financed by the city of Warsaw.