From May 19th to 21st, the third historical-architectural plein-air event organized by the Architecture Documentation Institute of the Silesian Library took place, as always in cooperation with the Faculty of Architecture of the Silesian University of Technology. The plein-air event was held in Złoty Potok, in the Janów Commune, with the project partners being the Institute of Literary Studies of the Jan Długosz University of Humanities and Natural Sciences in Częstochowa, the Częstochowa Delegation of the Silesian Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments, and the Janów Commune.
The idea behind organizing artistic plein-airs is to return to the good tradition of painting, drawing by hand, and documenting the historic surroundings through sketches, paintings, and drawings. As always, the active participants of the plein-air were architects and students of the Faculty of Architecture. It is worth recalling that previous plein-air meetings took place in Dębowiec (2017) and Górki Wielkie (2018). This time, the location of our plein-air was Złoty Potok and its picturesque objects: the Raczyński Palace, Zygmunt Krasiński’s manor, the church of St. John the Baptist, the organist’s house, the vanishing Kołaczew mill, the Jokielaska Manor known as “Diabelskie Mosty,” the Irydion pond, the Wiercica River, the rocky pinnacle “Brama Twardowskiego,” and many others.
The plein-air was accompanied by lectures introducing the participants to the issues of the cultural heritage of the region, including lectures by Aleksandra Janikowska-Perczak (a conservator of monuments from the Częstochowa Delegation of the Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments), Professor Elżbieta Hurnikowa (a literary scholar from the Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa), and the poet and promoter of Złoty Potok’s heritage, Mr. Ireneusz Bartkowiak. The special guest of the plein-air was the sculptor Jerzy Kędziora, the author of well-known balancing sculptures in Poland and abroad. And on Saturday evening, by the bonfire, Złoty Potok presented its poetic and musical face through a meeting with an active creative group of residents.
At the end of the three-day plein-air, all the works created by the participating artists were presented during the final vernissage, which took place on the entrance terrace of the Raczyński Palace.
Thanks to the kindness of the authorities of the Janów Commune, we are already planning further cooperation, including upcoming exhibitions, auctions, and a joint book publication summarizing the results of the plein-air. Post-plein-air publications are an excellent opportunity to promote the cultural heritage of the locality, which has proven to be very successful in the case of Dębowiec – the post-plein-air publication has already reached its second edition. A book about the plein-air in Górki Wielkie is nearing completion, and now we are starting preparations for the publication about Złoty Potok.
The plein-air was very well received and highly praised, both by the participants and partners, and above all by the hosts – the authorities and residents of the commune.
In summary of this year’s meeting, we are already thinking about the location for the next artistic journey.
Photos by Iwona Wander.
