“Architectural upcycling in the theatre" - exhibition at the Faculty of Architecture of the Silesian University of Technology
Until 20th September, in the building of the Centre of New Technologies of the Silesian University of Technology, you can see the exhibition entitled: "Architectural upcycling in the theatre - an experimental scenography project from recycled materials as a form of participation in artistic creation". The exhibition is the result of classes carried out as part of the 8th edition of Project Based Learning. The participants' task was to design the scenery for a play for children at the Silesian Theatre with the use of recycled materials.
Students and lecturers of the Silesian University of Technology, artists of the Silesian Theatre in Katowice, students and experts from Poland and abroad participated in the implementation of the project. The key goal was to integrate the activities of architects, theatre creators and educators. As part of the project, workshops and surveys were held at the Maria Konopnicka Primary School No 4. in Mikołów.
- The basic assumption of the project was to involve students of the Silesian University of Technology to take on key roles in creating art space in the city 4.0 in the area of an intensely developing and transformed region. “We also wanted to involve the employees of an important cultural institution in the region as experts in the implementation of an interdisciplinary project involving solving specific design and research and development problems, as well as having a real impact on the process of educating students - future creators of the space of culture and art” - said Dr. Anna Waligóra from the Institute Research on Education and Communication of the Silesian University of Technology.
The participants' task was to design the scenery for a play for children at the Silesian Theatre with the use of recycled materials. 60 pupils from grades 3, 4 and 6 participated in the classes with students and lecturers of the Silesian University of Technology. Their ideas can now be viewed in the building of the Faculty of Architecture at 100 Strzody Street. The exhibition presents selected reproductions of works prepared by students during the workshops. - “These works have undergone technical processing to adapt the children's imaginations to the artistic intention of the stage designers. Recycled materials were also used, including the so-called electro-waste. They constituted an important symbolism of the digital world for us, in which a young person often loses boundaries, succumbs to addictions, spends time, builds bonds, but is also lonely, misunderstood, and lost. When designing the scenery, we were looking for a child's view of issues that often seem very different to us - adults”, explains Dr. Waligóra.
As part of the project, apart from workshops, surveys were also carried out. - “We asked about the symbolism of colours, relationships, perception of security. We were curious about what the virtual world is for students at the moment, what needs they meet through contact with the media. The analysis of the collected data, in-depth discussion and observation of the work of children during art workshops inspired us to construct mock-ups of the scenography that were displayed at the exhibition. The presented projects are the result of intensive four-month work of students and tutors” - adds Dr. Anna Waligóra.
The following students participated in the implementation of the PBL project: Paweł Białas, Julia Giżewska, Marta Łazarczyk, Karolina Morawska, Katarzyna Zbrzeźniak (Faculty of Architecture) and Paulina Młyńczak (Institute for Research on Education and Communication). The project supervisors were Eng. Arch. Małgorzata Balcer-Zgraja Ph.D. Anna Waligóra PhD in Social Sciences and Eng. Arch. Tomasz Wagner, prof. of Silesian University of Technology. The project was implemented as part of the 8th edition of Project Based Learning, Silesian University of Technology as a Centre for Modern Education based on research and innovation and co-financed by the European Union from the European Social Fund.
