Why is it a good idea to try and win the ECOC title? To what extent can this project change the city? What was the reaction of Łódź authorities to the project? Can we hope that all the social and political powers will cooperate? All these questions will be answered by Dominika Ostrowska Augustyniak, the director of Bureau of Promotion, Tourism and International Cooperation, City of Łódź Office; Anna Jankowska, Coordinator of ECOC project from the City of Łódź Office; Agata Etmanowicz; Przemysław Andrzejak, the director of Marshal`s Office of the Lodz Voivodship Department of Promotion and International Cooperation; Krzysztof Candrowicz and Michał Piernikowski from Łódź Art Center, the authors of the “Łódź – European Capital of Culture 2016” project.

First, I will be provocative and ask you about your faith. Do you all believe Łódź can win the title of the European Capital of Culture?

Krzysztof Candrowicz: If there is anybody here who has any doubts, they should leave.

Michał Piernikowski: I am sure 100 percent. Faith has an irrational element in it, whereas I’m absolutely convinced we are a front-runner among towns trying to win the title.

K.C.: I think it’s something between dreams, faith, hard work and a strong belief we are going to be the city which prepares its candidature in the best way and creates the best project.


Od lewej: Dominika Ostrowska-Augustyniak, Przemysław Andrzejak, Artur Zaguła,
Maja Ruszkowska-Mazerant (redaktor naczelna Purpose)
Od prawej: Agata Etmanowicz i Michał Piernikowski


Let us ask the question, then: Why should we focus on trying to win the ECC title?


Anna Jankowska: Łódź has a great potential we all want to use. It should become a foundation on which we will create a new vision of the city, a vision that is part of the ECOC project. I really think we are able to do it. If I didn’t, I wouldn't feel like working to achieve this goal. We’ve got the potential we can’t waste.

Przemysław Andrzejak: I think it would be best if people, other than us around this table today, shared this belief - I mean all the residents of the city and the region. And to answer the „why" question – I think our city really needs this project. 


How can the project change the city?


P.A.: The history of ECOC shows a great influence the project has exerted upon participating towns – both in the area of culture and economy. We can treat it as a model. All the ECOC 2016 assumptions – the investments coming to Łódź and all the cultural initiatives – will help rebuild Łódź and its surroundings.

Agata Etmanowicz: Everything seems to have been said already by the preceding speakers. The ECOC title can change the city to the extent in which it wants to change itself. The success depends on the degree of commitment of all the stakeholders – the cultural sector and the local government in particular, as well as on our strategy, the project itself, and how consistent we are with its implementation. First of all, ECOC is a great opportunity for the people of culture, cultural organizations and institutions. The ECOC project should be related to creating a long-term strategy for the development of culture in a given city. It is a big opportunity for introducing many practical changes, such as: preparing new grant systems, culture infrastructure investments, sector professionalization. We also need to change our attitude, we should be able to realize that cultural investments do pay off, that the sector of culture does more than simply consume public funds, that it adds value in the social and economic context. Maybe we should ask different questions. What can a Polish city give to the ECOC. How can a project be useful at the European level? It is a two way process, after all. Cultural organizations in participating towns must start doing more at the international level, carrying out more and more European projects.

K.C.: Ending the thread on what Łódź can gain thanks to the ECOC title, I’d like to mention the symbolic dimension. Łódź is gaining a new image and a new identity. It is no longer a typical working class town that it has been for over 150 years. It is becoming a city of culture, entertainment and tourism. The ECOC project does a great deal in reinforcing this process. Thanks to this project, the city can redefine its  identity and acquire a new function. Of course it is a long and multi-dimensional process that needs a lot of strategic thinking put into it, so the results will be seen only after the ECOC celebrations.


Krzysztof Candrowicz, Dominika Ostrowska-Augustyniak


Who originated the idea of Łódź participating in the competition?

M.P.: It was a grass-roots, bottom-up if you will, initiative undertaken by the Łódź Art Center foundation which made a proposal to the City and the Marshal Office to carry out the project.

K.C.: It is the only Polish project initiated by cultural circles.
 
What was the reaction of Łódź authorities to the idea? Can we hope that all the social and political powers will cooperate?

P.A.: It is happening already. As I've mentioned before not only the people sitting around this table, but also all the residents of the region - politicians, businessmen, priests, students and the whole society - have a very positive attitude towards the ECOC 2016 issue.

K.C.: In October 2006 the European Parliament made a new decision on the ECOC. A month later Łódź Art Center suggested to the local government that we should take part in the competition. Two months later we announced our plans during a press conference. We had the support of all political parties, as well as of the Marshal and the President of Łódź. So we were the second city to announce its willingness to participate in the competition. Therefore, we do have some coherency in this respect I believe, and I think we are the only city where the ECOC entries are written in the budgets of both the City Council and the Marshal Council.

Dominika Ostrowska-Augustyniak: We’ve had some solid support from the very beginning. Jerzy Kropiwnicki, the president, knows young people, being on friendly terms with a lot of them. He immediately trusted Krzysztof Candrowicz. Then we had numerous other friendly angles who lobbied on our behalf, saying he is a "cool”, dynamic partner. We were the first Polish participating city to represent itself abroad. We did it together – both the city and the region – on the premises of the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Poland to the European Union in Brussels. There were a lot of people interested in our candidature. Many of them came from other candidate cities, doing a bit of a spying game – so to say. But, we've always been putting our cards on the table. We wanted everybody to know we were united in our actions.

I hope that province authorities are also willing to cooperate, supporting your activities.

P.A.: I think one of the proofs is my being here, talking to you all, and the mentioned budget or the personal involvement of Włodzimierz Fisiak, the Marshal. It goes to show that we are all working on the concept together.

Everybody is cooperating and that's really inspiring. What if we don’t get the title? Who will be to blame? Who will be responsible for the loss?

A.J.: That’s not the proper way to look at it. There are no losers in this game. Everything we do before 2016, also in the social dimension, constitutes an added value. Of course, being realists, we do take two scenarios into account. One says we will win the title and boast of it internationally. The other stipulates the ECOC title goes to another candidate. Regardless of the outcome, we’ll develop the things we’ve been working on, and we’ll definitely learn a lot of lessons. We will be able to carry out all the cultural initiatives. One way or another, it is a huge opportunity for our city.

K.C.: To cut a long story short, there’s a certain strategy, a certain path that we’ll follow regardless of the result.

A.E.: Will it be followed in the same way, though ? Usually we’re full of enthusiasm for something until a given moment. As long as we compete for the ECOC title, larger funds are allocated for culture. Once the enthusiasm is gone, the usual happens, i.e. it turns out there's not enough cash in the budget for the execution of the projects which have been planned before. When the culture budget is drawn up, it shouldn’t be treated only in terms of “executing the ECOC project”, but rather as “building and developing the cultural sector”. It is important for the financing, if the given city doesn’t get the title, to stay at the same level. The European Capital of Culture should be a means, not a goal.

D.O.-A.: We want the funds to increase. We’ve got a strategy worked out until 2018, which proves our thinking is based on long-term objectives. We do take the two scenarios into account, but at the same time we’re going to carry out projects that have been confirmed. We will keep preparing our action plan until the winner of the ECOC competition is announced. The plan will have to be executed to a greater or lesser extent. We will not rest on our laurels.

P.A.: In my opinion we are already successful in as far as we are sitting here, being the first city to present itself in Brussels, at an official conference. We are successful, because we are supported by the whole society, all the organizations and various political parties. It matters that we are in this together. There are no political divisions. Everybody bears their own responsibility – be it the President, the Marshal or any other institution involved in the project. We all realize how big and responsible this undertaking is.


Przemysław Andrzejak, Agata Etmanowicz


Do you think that participating in the ECOC competition will change the face of the city? Does the Marshal Office have a new strategy based on seeing some business potential in culture industries?


P.A.: We have to remember that the ECOC title will be won not only by the city, but the whole region of which Łódź is the capital. Łódź serves as a powerful engine for all the phenomena in the area of economy, education, sports, and culture. What happens in this city is always reflected in the whole region.

D.O.-A.: It is important for the identity of the region for culture to be popularized everywhere. The „Colors of Poland” festival, organized by Łódź Concert Hall, or “Regional Theatre Scene” which will soon be promoted by Stefan Jaracz’s Theatre are activities aimed at popularizing Łódź and its satellite towns. We want our society, all the residents of Łódź and all the Europeans benefit from these hundreds of thousands of zloties allocated in the budgets. A project is useless unless it reaches its addressees.

K.C.: A strong argument of the Marshal Office is the fact that it has laid down foundations for three major cultural institutions in Łódź - Concert Hall, Art Museum and Great Theatre. All of them are powerful partners in the ECOC competition. The Office follows also the right path in its promotional activities under the banner: “Avant-garde is our tradition”. It is our most important motto and a brave slogan - I'm really glad that's the way we're going to promote the city in the region.


It’s high time I asked you three more questions. Do we already have a clear-cut ECOC strategy? Have core competences been assigned? Do we have the main coordinator responsible for the project execution?


D.O.-A.: So far we’ve drawn up a general strategy showing the direction and main pillars of the project. It has been made public and discussed by various groups of people, so that's really something, I guess. Our main slogans are: “Avant-garde Łódź”, “Dynamic Łódź”, “Łódź for the Young”, “Visual Art City", and "Design City". We are dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s as regards giving this strategy to individual institutions, the Marshal Office and the Łódź City Council. I believe, and I hope I’m not alone in thinking that way, it’s time to make a formal step and invite (as part of the competition) artists and experienced cultural events managers to start carrying out the activities that have been planned for long years. I think Krzysztof Candrowicz’s role as the project initiator will be confirmed or at least binding. We have to let other entities, however, face the challenge and have their say. 


I understand that we can soon expect the announcement of a person or a group of people who will be responsible for the ECC project.


D.O.-A.: That’s right. It will then be the responsibility of the City Council and the Marshal Council to supervise the process. These organs will also be available for consultation, they will say which things need to be done, controlling authorities and institutions which report to them. This formal framework is crucial so that everybody knows what their scope of responsibilities is. The office trying to win the title will have to do everything possible to find contractors, do some lobbying and go to places where people should be told that Łódź is the best candidate.



Anna Jankowska


Do other cities have such coordinating offices?


A.E.: I think it’s way too early to assess that. A few years ago nobody was treating the ECOC idea seriously. I’m a big fan of the new ECOC formula, of the competition, because it raises the level of individual towns' projects and the whole ECOC initiative. The ECOC is definitely the most visible EU cultural activity. But there seems to be too much confusion around the competition, everything looks too blown up at the moment. We should slow down a little bit and instead of running promotional campaigns under the “We are the ECOC” banners we should take a break, calmly assess the situation, roll our sleeves up and start working on the project, as it is the project that will be evaluated by the experts. 


Łódź institutions seem to be aware of that. For example Łódź Concert Hall whose activities are coordinated with the ECOC project. Andrzej Sułek, the Concert Hall director, underlines that a few year ECOC timeframe is something he is in favor of.  


A.E.: I like the involvement of the Łódź cultural sector – for instance, when I see Internet sites of Łódź institutions and cultural organizations with the "Łódź ECOC - Best Candidate" logo in them. And all the other details like the fact that a building under renovation is covered with an artistic panorama of Łódź, that in one of the cafes you can drink a cup of coffee from a £ECOC cup. All of this creates some kind of wholeness and a feeling of involvement and cooperation. Let us never forget, however, that in spite of the fact that ECOC celebrations include many individual projects, all of them should be in line with the general strategy and assumptions of one leading ECOC project.

K.C.: It’s very hard work, not just a promotional campaign. PR and promotional activities aren’t central to this project, they are simply tools to gain the residents’, opinion leaders’ and experts' support. All the things we are discussing go to show that the awareness among ECOC decision makers is already sufficient and that it’s high time we started working on the project itself. We have one year before the Ministry of Culture announces its invitation to take part in the project. As Ms. Ostrowska mentioned earlier, we must formalize and institutionalize our actions. The preparation period is over. Now it’s time for tears, sweat and hard work. It may be less spectacular as it is not only about promotional activities, but it is what it's all about.

P.A.: Talking about projects and the involvement of the city or the local government, I think that it is well exemplified by the EC-1 project, so widely known already. First decisions have been taken in regard to selecting the architect. In my opinion, EC-1 will be one of priority projects within the ECOC 2016 framework, maybe even the oracle. No other candidate city, be it in Poland or other European countries, plans such a big investment. 


Considering Łódź as a serious candidate, let us try to enumerate the major advantages of this city. 


A.E.: Łódź has always been a city associated with culture. Not only do we have the tradition related to freshness and progressive attitude, but first of all the people. Cultural projects would be nothing without their creators. The people I’ve met here are professional, creative and full of enthusiasm.  Maybe that’s why in Łódź there’s this bottom-up approach towards the ECOC competition preparations. It was upon the initiative of people working in the sector of culture that the project was initiated and then supported by local authorities.

P.A.: I also think that the greatest value of all these projects lies with the people. The residents of this city and this region are extremely ambitious, which is a fantastic characteristic feature for us. Łódź has survived an economic crisis when most of the factories went bankrupt. Today, however, the businesses are alive again, and with them the culture. The better our economic situation, the more ambitious we become in regard to culture.



Od prawej: Artur Zaguła, prowadzący dyskusję i Przemysław Andrzejak


Let us concentrate again on what it is we can offer that other cities cannot. Lublin is interesting as an off the beaten track sort of place – a bit upcountry; Toruñ is a historic city with a magnificent old town; whereas Warsaw has a big advantage as the capital of Poland. What is it about Łódź that makes it different, something the whole ECOC concept can be built upon? A special combination of tradition and modernity? On the one hand the city has been built on factory owners' fortunes, their traditional taste, their mansions, villas and tenement houses. On the other hand it has been shaped by artistic avant-garde – Strzemiñski’s and Kobro’s relationship with Łódź has been proven beyond doubt. Should this identity of the city of factories and business and, at the same time, of modern art become the foundation of our image?


K.C.: Yes, we are actually doing that in the first drafts of the project. We have created four pillars that are only directions on the basis of which detailed concepts will be developed. The first one is the avant-garde, progressive culture and bottom-up movement visible in the whole history of this city. The second pillar is the fusion of visual arts. We are the city in which visual activities – i.e. film, modern art, photography, design, fashion and comic books make all the running. These are the areas of art in which Łódź is exceptionally visible. Another direction we need to focus on and do a lot about is the cultural industries, creative industries and all the other things at the meeting point of art and business. It can build bridges between culture and economy. Another characteristic is our post-industrial heritage, the architectural tissue which is very special and which cannot be found elsewhere in Poland.

P.A.: Generally speaking, our spirit includes three brands: “avant-garde is our tradition", “the promised land”, and “our tradition consists of new technologies”. 


Will we be able to arouse interest for all the ECOC initiatives in cultural and educational institutions which are usually quite slow to act?


A.J.: Obviously, time will tell if we manage to engage everybody. I’d like to see this potential in the social dimension, talk about academic life, young people who are really enthusiastic about the whole project. We have just finished the EUroads 2008 initiative – i.e. a great action undertaken by students from all Łódź universities. They were travelling all around Europe, visiting capitals that have either already been the European Capital of Culture or are competing to win the title. They were organizing happenings promoting our city. It was a very well-known and innovative project. Personally, I do count on the involvement of young people, because they are the human potential we should make use of. If they initiate such initiatives themselves, both the City Council and all the other institutions working to carry out the project should help them. I’m quite positive in this respect, as I was pretty involved myself working for EUroads 2008.


To end our discussion I would like to ask if there is already an outline of what we can offer to the Europeans if we win the ECOC title.

K.C.: We can’t give a detailed answer to that question, because we are still working on the project. If we want to carry it out, we will need to cooperate with many international experts who see Łódź from quite a different perspective and who will ask themselves what Łódź can bring into the ECOC project. One year ago, during the first meeting with the European Commission representatives, we realized that we need to provide an answer to the question why a German, a Slovak or a Swede would want to come to Łódź in 2016. How should we be different than the others? In order to answer those questions, we need some external expertise. We did say how we were different than the rest, but we still must draw up projects which will convince the Europeans. There is still a lot of work to be done.

P.A.: We must create a multi-package at the European level so that every guest and tourist could find something for themselves. Every nation has a different culture and mentality. We are learning today from our European partners what offer we should present to a given country and a given customer. We are constructing the multi-package today.

D.O.-A.: I would like to add that the uniqueness of Łódź and its residents may be seen in terms of an archetype of European development. If we say “factory” we also mean “steam machine”, i.e. we think of something which is easily recognizable by the English. I've heard it said all over Europe that Łódź – with its multiple cultures, sounds of machines, movements of grey masses of workers, its wellness and richness – is strongly associated also with art and culture. I was very happy to hear that. It is the very essence of western mentality with eastern elements. So, I think a lot of Europeans can find in Łódź traces of their own characteristic features, their own mentality and a part of their own history. One of the objectives of this discussion should also be for “Purpose”, a magazine not only for Poles, but also other European readers, to give us promotional opportunities. I would like to make a public appeal at this point – and I believe I speak for all of us here – to prompt readers to discuss interesting issues, to give us ideas for new initiatives, to be our advocates. We already have a lot of friends in Europe, but the circle of your readers is so valuable that it can make us even stronger.

P.A.: We have 2,6 million advocates of this project in our region. I don’t think any other city can boast of a similar number of supporters.
Losing is not an option, then. Thank you very much for your time.

Photos: Adam Słowikowski