The 11th Festival OPEN CITY is curated by Paweł Leszkowicz and Tomasz Kitliński. Both connected to the Academy and active in the public sphere. Leszkowicz and Kitliński attended the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London, which shaped their views of art and the surrounding reality. They participated in the action Let them see us (2003) and got married in Brighton in 2014. Together, they curated the exhibitions Healing War through Art (University of Brighton) and War and Peace (Galeria Labirynt in Lublin). Together with Szymon Pietrasiewicz, Kitliński curated the Transeuropa Festival in Lublin in 2011, a series of Jewish, feminist, ecological and queer events. As part of Transeuropa, Leszkowicz curated Love is Love – from Britain to Bielarus. In Poznań, Leszkowicz curated urban events with the participation of Izabela Gustowska, among others. Both Leszkowicz and Kitliński were awarded prestigious research grants, such as Marie Curie, Fulbright or EURIAS. Their academic output has been appreciated by numerous universities – as visiting professors they lectured in Japan, Finland, the United Kingdom and the USA.
Adam Mickiewicz University Prof. Paweł Leszkowicz
Art historian, university lecturer and independent curator specialising in contemporary art and culture, exhibition design and LGBT studies. The author of the following exhibitions and catalogues: Miłość i demokracja / Love and Democracy (2006), Sztuka z kolekcji Grażyny Kulczyk / Art from Gra Collection (2007) Imperium zmysłów / The Realm of the Senses (2008), Vogue (2009), Urban Legends. Festiwal sztuki publicznej / Urban Legends. Public Art Festival (2009), Ars Homo Erotica (2010), Love is Love. Sztuka jako aktywizm LGBTQ od Wielkiej Brytanii do Białorusi / Love is Love. Art as LGTB Activism from the Great Britain to Bielarus (2011), Civil Partnerships. Feminist and Queer Art and Activism in the UK (2012), Healing War Through Art (2014), Wojna i pokój / War and Peace (2015). The author of the following books: Helen Chadwick. Ikonografia podmiotowości (2001), Miłość i Demokracja. Refleksja o kwestii homoseksualnej w Polsce (2005), Art Pride. Sztuka gejowska z Polski (2010), Nagi mężczyzna. Akt męski w sztuce polskiej po 1945 roku (2012).
Maria Skłodowska-Curie University Prof. Tomasz Kitliński
Philosopher, performer, curator, university lecturer and left-wing politician. His areas of activity include politics and philosophy of politics, art and human rights. The author of the following exhibitions and catalogues: Love is Love. Sztuka jako aktywizm LGBTQ od Wielkiej Brytanii do Białorusi / Love is Love. Art as LGTB Activism from the Great Britain to Bielarus (2011), Civil Partnerships. Feminist and Queer Art and Activism in the UK (2012), Healing War Through Art (2014), Wojna i pokój / War and Peace (2015). The author of the following books: Obcy jest w nas. Kochać według Julii Kristevej (2001); Miłość i demokracja. Rozważania o kwestii homoseksualnej w Polsce (2005); Dream? Democracy! A Philosophy of Horror, Hope & Hospitality in Art & Action (2014).