The dust has settled, the planes with participants have departed, and yet there are still months of work ahead. It has taken me some time and distance away from my constantly ringing phone and hundreds of daily emails to reflect. I actually don’t yet feel its time to reflect, as it feels like I am still on the PolArt Honeymoon. As I write this article now, I am surrounded by piles of PolArt papers, festival program, piles of receipts to be reimbursed, a now shrinking to do list, emails to follow up and so on. Being involved right from the start and seeing PolArt through from difficult beginnings to such a fruitful end makes it all the more difficult for me to step back and give a fact by fact account. But hopefully these initial reflections will at least satisfy for the moment.
In those initial days after the festival, I must have looked at all the photos on Facebook over a dozen times. Each smile, gesture, and moment captured brought impulsive thoughts; how far have these participants travelled, how did they feel at their accommodation, were they close to their friends and making use of the open space at the colleges to socialise, did they enjoyed themselves at the NYE ball as much as I did, did their group leader pass on all the information that we made available in hard copy and online, did they drink enough water backstage to avoid heatstroke, have their met the love of their life at PolArt yet, did they managed to at least get a few hours sleep that night (or rather morning) before performing…on and on. Each photo transported me back to that moment – the sounds, sights, tastes and smells.
The whole event logistically ran very smoothly, the best indication of exactly how much work had gone in behind the scenes to ensure every minor detail had been addressed. The heat wave, which started along with PolArt, was a perfect reminder that despite all the planning in the world, there are some thing that we don’t have control over.
Despite the weather, all festival events were very well attended. We are still to confirm final numbers, but indicatively; the literature events each attracted over 60 people, the visual arts exhibition over 5000 people, the dance shows attracted on average 600 people per night, and the theatre shows averaged 150 per show, and included one sell out production, with a line of unhappy last minute buyers left outside. The Festival opening and PolArt Festyn attracted around 3000 people each, which considering the time of year and the heat was pretty impressive.
The highlights? Definitely the New Years Eve ball. Walking into the stadium, guests were transported to a magical land lit by candles and a sea of white and snow-blue sparkling decorations. Cool wintery lights were enough to bring a chill into the air, apart of course on the dance floor, where no snowman would have a chance! It was red hot from the very start of the night with the sounds of both a live band and DJ. Toddlers, children, youth, adults and grandparents celebrated together under one roof, and had the most spectacular time.
The PolArt Festyn was another success story. For the first time, an entertainment and educational event for the whole family was organised. It opened with the telling of the ‘Legend of the Wawel Dragon’, and the Wawel Dragon was indeed the star. Afterwards he appeared on stage to celebrate his birthday in a kids musical production, and then wandered among the crowd to pose for photographs. There was also a six-metre Paper Mache dragon sculpture for kids to paint. Along with story telling sessions, outdoor games, folkloric dance lessons, and craft activities such as making traditional Polish ‘wianki’ (floral wreaths), there were plenty of activities to keep children occupied. Food and craft stalls included everything from traditional wooden toys, and jewellery to Polish souvenirs and memorabilia.
And finally, the spectacular folkloric dance concerts! New choreography, new costumes, seamless transitions: all three shows were very different and incredibly engaging. The crowds attending were just as enthusiastic as the dancers, tapping their feet, singing and clapping along to the music. One friend, who only recently moved to Australia after spending years in England, commented the dances made her feel homesick.
This comment was very powerful to me, as that is precisely the power of the arts – to move people emotionally, regardless of the language that we speak or where we are born. Each of the dancers, actors or visual artists who voluntarily took part in PolArt had the privilege of touching someone’s life, of moving them to tears or taking them back to their childhood. And after all, isn’t that why we are alive, to move and inspire others? That was certainly one of our driving visions; to inspire and unite through the universal language of art.
So putting aside all the logistics and all the facts, yes, PolArt in Perth was indeed a magnificent success. This universal language brought together generations, and for what seemed to be a suspension of ‘real life’ for those few days, neither politics nor language barriers mattered. The community as a whole was simply celebrating and sharing what it means to be Polish in Australia. The sheer scale and energy that the over 15,000 PolArt attendees brought to the city is something that will remain with us in Perth for years to come. So from the bottom of our hearts, thank you.
Photos © Adam Mazur /Atomic Arts