Open Conversations and… some Coffee at Open Cafe

Every Wednesday at 6 p.m., Urban Lab buzzes with energy as the INPRO volunteers open the doors to Open Cafe, a space where everyone can explore different cultures, share experiences, and take part in fun and informative activities and workshops. This platform enables young people from Rzeszów and nearby areas to engage in discussions about local and global social issues while enhancing their English skills.

This blog post invites you, dear reader, to join us in this event as we recount this week’s Open Cafe, titled “Art Critic: Part 2,” to discover what makes this event so special. As the title suggests, this event serves as a sequel, delving deeper into the world of artistic interpretation.

The evening kicked off with an energizer called “Salati.” Participants, all but one comfortably seated, were assigned fruits in Georgian. The unseated participant would call out a fruit, initiating a delightful game of musical chairs with a cultural twist.

After everyone was energized, INPRO’s Volunteers, Erij and Mariami, presented a photograph of an artwork by Damien Hirst, which featured a preserved tiger shark submerged in formalin within a glass-panel display case. Participants, divided into groups, were tasked with interpreting the artwork without knowing its title. After sharing their opinions, the title was revealed: “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living.”

The evening proceeded with the screening of “Why these all-white paintings are in museums and mine aren’t,” a thought-provoking video dissecting modern art and its prominent critique – “I could do that.” This video sparked a spirited open discussion where attendees freely shared their thoughts on the video’s message and engaged in dynamic conversations.

The night concluded with one last activity: analyzing paintings with dedicated attention to the emotions they evoke in the viewer. Artworks by Winifred Knights, Jean-François Millet, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, and Francesco Hayez were analyzed, and participants shared their opinions.

As the night came to a close, five participants were celebrated for their exceptional artistic criticism, concluding the event with a group picture. This week’s topic, like every week’s, transcended its surface theme, leading participants into profound conversations about the human experience within the art industry, surprising even the hosts. This unpredictability, the way Open Cafe exceeds expectations, evolves, and shapes its personality through participant engagement, is the hallmark of Open Cafe’s success, making every Wednesday at Urban Lab an unforgettable experience.