Social Cultural Institution
The foundations that define a social cultural institution correspond to the mission and tasks that Komuna Warszawa Theater as an entire organization sets for itself. This is primarily to support the development of creativity and cooperation in and through culture.
Cultural ecosystem
In the world of culture (and beyond), institutions are stable organizations, building long-term programs, legally and financially secured for a long life. Institutions can be created on the basis of citizen initiatives, decisions of the state / local government or private foundations. Their establishment is linked to the belief that they will perform an important social function.
A democratic state under the rule of law supports and recognizes the importance of civil society, providing it with public resources to carry out tasks from below – in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity. This principle is enshrined in the Polish Constitution.
“Social cultural institution” is an emanation of the cultural commitment of civil society, so social cultural institutions should be treated with due seriousness – as elements of a properly functioning cultural ecosystem.
Bottom-up organization
Komuna Warszawa Theater operates under the pioneering formula of a social cultural institution on a national scale.
By Social Institution of Culture we mean a structured and regular activity in various fields of culture and art, created as a result of grassroots self-organization on the basis of values common to a given environment. A Social Institution of Culture defines its profile through activities for the benefit of a selected environment or community – it implements programs directed to male and female artists, artistic circles and communities present in Warsaw, develops cooperation in the field of culture. It co-creates cultural circuits, observes and responds to social and cultural trends, and presents the results of its activities to the public.
Currently, the lack of legal regulations hinders the sustainable functioning and development of Social Cultural Institutions, as well as their adaptation in other cities in Poland. During the Co-Congress of Culture, Minister of Culture Hanna Wroblewska expressed openness to including SCIs in the statutory framework, which provides a unique opportunity for legislative work.
All the things that could happen next
In 2022, we published a book edited by Zofia Dworakowska, which summarized the first two years of our activities in the former school at 31 Emilia Plater Street.
“All the things that could happen next – Komuna Warszawa in Search of a New Institutional Model (2020-2022)”.
The title of the book is a quote from the neon sign that stands in the garden in front of the school and has become our signature. It was designed for us by Tim Etchells.
Excerpt from the introduction by Zofia Dworakowska:
In 2020, at the intersection of Emilia Plater and Nowogrodzka Streets, on the site of a former school garden, Komuna placed a neon sign depicting an inscription that reads “All the Things That Could Happen Next.” It was designed by Tim Etchells, director of the famous experimental theater Forced Entertainment, as part of his residency as curator of the second season of the Hub of Culture. The message of this work is, by design, unsettling and ambivalent – it expresses the uncertainty of the future, but also inspires one to think about one’s own agency. However, one can also read this work from the perspective of the institutional history of Komuna, in which case it will turn out to be a reminiscence of another text, dating from 1995: “Welcome to the House of Komuna Otwock in Ponurzyca, here anything can happen […]. Everything depends on us: the Good and the Bad.” What at the time seemed like a punk call, at once naive, insolent and humorous, years later turns out to be a fulfilled promise.”
The publication is a summary of the activities of the social cultural institution run by the Warsaw Commune from 2019 to 2022. It primarily includes a presentation of Komuna’s four-year program, including curatorial texts, descriptions of all productions with photos, and profiles of those involved in its creation. The contexts for the Hub’s program are built up, on the one hand, by the statements of those who create it, and on the other, by research analyses.
