Introducing Art to the travelers: the Mlociny hub major interchange of the Warsaw Public Transport Authority Warsaw Public Transport Authority (ZTM) as a Park for the Art.

The successful combination became possible
owing to the agreement of the ZTM with
the Academy of Fine Arts (ASP) in Warsaw.
It was meant to enable young novice artists
to present their works on the grounds of the
Mlociny interchange hub. In return, the ZTM
gained factual support on works conducted
over the graphic design of organized
information and educational campaigns.

Public space used to be a very popular way
of presenting art. In time, art was transferred
to galleries and museums. The Park of Art
was supposed to rediscover the space of
large metropolis as an ideal place for
displaying contemporary art. The Mlociny
hub meets these conditions. There are sites
for artistic installations, big sculptures or
audiovisual shows in its external surroundings.
Purpose is to let hurrying commuters,
and there are over 30 thousand of them
every day, merge in the world of art and
slow down.

The Park of Art opened on 15 June 2009
with the exhibition “Public Transport in the
Lens of the Students of the Academy of Fine
Arts” of black and white photographs from
a competition organized by the ZTM Warsaw
and the Academy. The photos incorporated
in the sidewalks to give an original
perspective were displayed in the patio of
the Mlociny hub, an easily accessible space
opposite the exit from the underground
train station. The inspiration came mainly
from the students visit to the tramways
depot in Mokotów and Praga. The photos,
composed of shades of white and grey, full
of the play of light and shadow, presented
everyday life of a depot and of the city,
they showed people at work, people travelling, communication details, and reality
seen through bus and tramway windows.

Young sculptors also showed their works.
Some using deliberately the technique of
black and white photo, presented models
in poses stylized to look like sculptures.
Others displayed their spatial constructions
made of polystyrene foam in the Mlociny
interchange hub. A photo session of a
popular singer Justyna Steczkowska was
also organized among these polystyrene
sculptures.

In fact the contribution of ZTM Warsaw to
the promotion of culture through public
transport doesn’t stop there. Other recent
activities range from organizing design
contest to promoting film festival or
supporting literature. ZTM organized a
contest for a universal logotype for future
marking municipal means of transport, in
collaboration with the Bemowo district.
Participants were numerous attracted by
the prizes, an invitation to the highly popular
Sonisphere rock festival (featuring
Metallica and AC/DC). Contributions were
very diversified from hand made drawings
to professional designers. The jury awarded
the logotype representing a mermaid (the
symbol of Warsaw) playing the saxophone.

The ZTM Warsaw also participated in the
promotion of the third edition of the
Soviet and Russian film festival Sputnik.
The event celebrates Russian cinema
masters and notably the recent winner of
the “Window to Europe” festival, the film
“Stone Head” staring the famous Russian
boxer Nikolai Valuev. Advertisement posters
were placed in all the public transport
vehicles.

And last but not least, ZTM supports
literature in promoting for example the
novelist Tomasz Konatkowski for his novel
“Nie ma takiego miasta” (There isn’t such
a city) the third book of a series of thrillers
featuring a Chandler–like detective solving
crime enigmas in the setting of daily life
and realities of Warsaw city. At times
passengers received leaflet containing parts of the novel. Besides, to celebrate
the World Book Day on 23 April, ZTM
Warsaw, Nokia Poland and Audioteka.pl
invited passengers on board “audiobuses”
to share pieces of literature from Wladyslaw
Reymont to Paulo Coelho to fairy tales
from Andersen, read by famous Polish actors.
No doubt passengers must have enjoyed
the trip.

More information at: www.ztm.waw.pl