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23-29 April 2018Targowa Creativity Center

About The Art of Diplomacy 

The Art of Diplomacy is an exhibition by artists from eight countries who are based in Warsaw with their spouses, who are ambassadors to Poland. The art of diplomacy is about seeing things from different perspectives, and navigating the spaced in between them. Each of the eight contributors draw on diverse media, including painting, graphic design, photography, literature, textile and craftwork, to tell a story that is unique to them, their backgrounds, and their experiences of Warsaw.

This public exhibition is hosted by SHOM - Spouses of Heads of Mission, the organisation behind Warsaw’s famous International Christmas Bazaar. It takes place from 23-30 April at Targowa Creativity Center in Praga, Warsaw. The Center is a proud partner and exciting incubator for creative sector start up businesses. 

The opening night is at 18.00 on Monday 23rd April. 

The Gallery

Centrum Kreatywności Targowa

"The future success of the city will be determined by the creativity of its residents and authorities." Charles Landry - Creative City

Targowa Creativity Center will play the role of an incubator for creative sector startups. It is to provide support for creative entrepreneurship and integrate Warsaw initiatives, projects and activities focused on its development.

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Pariticpants

Marianna Ghazaryan
Armenia

It has been almost 4 years, since my husband was posted to Poland. And it has been a great opportunity for me to get familiar to other countries traditions and culture, which brought a fantastic possibility for me to add more knowledge about art.

In 2000s I graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts of Yerevan State Pedagogical University named after Khachatur Abovyan but it has been almost 7 years since I am experiencing techniques of batiks (painting on silk). And during 4 years period of time I have been doing workshops in Polish-Armenian Foundation and in different polish cities for many times.

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Shahanaj Parvin
Bangladesh

I have spent nearly four to six months in Warsaw. Honestly speaking what ever i do, it comes from my heart and sense of proportion, no academic Art certificate. I love creative work and enjoy designing and some times preparing my own jewellery. For me, my artwork is very meaningful. It gives me satisfaction, happiness,mental peace and self-confidence. My Art work changes my free and flat time meaningful and colorful and joyful time. So it changes my time staying in Warsaw.

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Anne-Marie Mikkelsen
Denmark


I have been living in Warsaw for one and a half years. Poland is our 6th posting, and during 30 years of traveling the world, and living in different countries, I have always brought my handicraft with me. It eases a stressful mind, and was my little oasis in a life where children, work, house and family took a lot of my time. For many years I was mostly knitting, but during our time in Turkey, I had the time and the opportunity to learn to quilt. Quilt/patchwork is a time consuming hobby, but very rewarding. And again, sewing or knitting, playing with yarn and fabrics, while listening to music or a good book on podcast, is one my favorite things to do.

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Olivia Nikel
Germany


Before moving moving with my husband to his first posting as Ambassador in April 2014, I was working as a journalist for over 20 years for German newspapers. Especially during my time as US-Correspondent and reporting on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, I took many pictures and photography became my passion. As an Ambassadors wife, I could not report from Poland. I decided to improve my skills at the Warsaw School of Photography. It was a great adventure not only to discover Warsaw through the lens of my camera, but also to take pictures of the entire country. What I found in east, west, north and south and many random place in between, was a colorful land with a vibrant culture and proud people. Many of these photos are published in the book “A journey through the defiant land”. A collection is now

shown in this exhibition. 

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Stephen Donnelly
Ireland


Living in Poland for over 3 years has been my first experience of living abroad. It has proved to be an incredible journey and source of inspiration for me, as a freelance Graphic Designer. I graduated from the National College of Art & Design in Dublin, and have enjoyed my passion in all areas of design since then. Typically my creativity lies within working with a client however the opportunity to exhibit has turned the magnifying glass to myself and my own thoughts. This exhibition has been an introspective exercise in how I relate to my new home, the commonalities, the differences and the fascintation that can lie between. My style is explicitly clean and direct but with an important sense of humour. I have sought to interpret Warsaw's history and it's outlook to establish how I engage with this new direction and relationship.

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Alla Logova Gullgren
Sweden

I was born in Moscow but for the last twenty years have lived in Sweden and abroad with my husband. 

After working for many years with corporate finance I made a shift towards art.  I studied at Stockholm Academy of Realist Art, at Art Studio of Farigh Ghadery, with V.Kikinev (Ukrainian impressionist), V.Borovik (professor at Repin Academy in St.Peterburg) and Joe Paquet (landscape artist from the US). I participated in exhibitions in Stockholm and in Moscow. Expressing life on canvas makes me feel most intensely alive. Since an artist can paint and draw anywhere this gives an inexhaustible source of joy wherever diplomacy takes our family. I am very excited about exploring Warsaw and developing as an artist in Poland.

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Adriana Krištofíková
Slovakia

I have been living in Warsaw since August 2015.

Creative writing, applied linguistic and study of literature were the main part of my university studies at Faculty of Philosophy and Philology, Comenius University in Bratislava, and my teaching occupation. My books have been published since 2012 by Slovak publishing company of books Motyl, and Company 7 Plus, a Slovak publishing company of periodicals.

Three of my novels were also published in Braille font and as an audio books for visually impaired people, two of my novels were twice awarded in reader´s competition of Slovak region Turiec - The Best Book of Turiec (in 2016 and 2017). All the books have been published in classic print and are also available as e-books.

In the near future - autumn 2018 - my first book for children, professionally illustrated, is going to be published in Slovakia and the  books Dreams of Your Size and Taste of Water are going to be translated and published in Poland.

PR of my books consists of activities via my publishers – interviews, advertizing in magazines and on the Internet, TV and Book fairs projects, meetings with my readers.  

My novels are inspired by international community, people on move and ex-pats, unease realtionships and foreign background.  To be happy we need to love and work. This is what writing means to me. Passion, freedom, joy, playing with language and immagination. My mind and heart are open to every interesting story...

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Martha Rodríguez Planke
Uruguay


I have lived in Warsaw since October 2014. I graduated in 1986 as Notary from the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences at the Public National University. In 1987 I was admitted at the National School of Beaux Arts, where I was tutored by the plastic artist Anhelo Hernández (direct disciple of Joaquín Torres García), in whose atelier I was formed and remained until 1993. For more than thirty years I have been investigating and using the technique of collage. I have participated in collective and individual exhibitions in Perú, Brazil, Uruguay. In 2017 an individual exhibition of my works was displayed in Warsaw at the Creativity Center Targowa. I think that art is transformation: everything that happens in life is transmuted into art through colors, music, forms, words ... Those of us who choose the path of art have a continuous task: we are always receiving something from the outside world and we are transforming it into symbols with the hope that they will remain in the memory of others.

Contact details: mrplanke@hotmail.com, vonplankenstein@gmail.com

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