City Scene: Wrocław’s Independent Culture of the 1990s – curatorial tour 

A curatorial tour through the exhibition City Scene: Wrocław’s Independent Culture of the 1990s will provide an opportunity to examine it from various perspectives: a factual one, which organises the phenomena of Wrocław’s 1990s music underground, and a social one, which – beyond the bands and clubs – looks at the people who brought it together, as well as the processes of documenting this phenomenon.

A story about the birth of Wrocław’s independent culture in the 1990s, when, after the political transformation, a space for freedom and experimentation developed in clubs, squats and galleries. Its roots go back to the 1980s, when circles associated with the Luxus group, the Kormorany band, the Entropia Gallery and the Antena Krzyku music publisher developed a DIY ethos and an openness to combining the arts. The exhibition presents people, places and archival materials from the decade of transition, when musicians, performers and visual artists created a scene together, thus building local communities and an alternative identity for the city. The City Scene is curated by Paweł Piotrowicz and Paweł Starzec.

The tour will be led by Joanna Stembalska.

Joanna Stembalska

– curator of the Studio BWA Wrocław gallery, whose programme explores the role of art in addressing contemporary challenges and perspectives in the fields of urban activism, alternative culture, urban planning and environmental concerns. She has curated and co-curated numerous group exhibitions, including ‘For Kids and Adults’ at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade, ‘To Be Like the Chief Judge’ at the Awangarda BWA Wrocław gallery, and numerous solo exhibitions. Initiator of the award-winning OUT OF STH International Outdoor Art Biennale. Co-author of the international residency programme at BWA Wrocław from 2014 to 2019.

Curatorial tour will be held in Polish with English translation.