The year 2022 is being celebrated as the Year of Polish Romanticism to mark the 200th anniversary of the first edition of Adam Mickiewicz’s collection Ballads and Romances. More than 40 cultural institutions are involved in the year’s celebrations, including: 20 museums, eight theatres, eight opera houses and philharmonics, and more than 40 art schools, which organised events as well as competitions for students introducing Polish Romanticism.
According to the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, a total of more than 397,000 people took part in events connected with the Year of Polish Romanticism, while some 2.7 million people observed the events in the online format.
On the occasion of the Year of Polish Romanticism, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage also organised a special programme entitled Ballads and Romances, to which it allocated PLN 4.2 million. As part of the programme, a total of 152 projects were realised by libraries, community centres, theatres, museums and philharmonics, including a nationwide competition for actors for an artistic interpretation of Adam Mickiewicz’s Ballads and Romances (VERBA SACRA Foundation) or a dance-theatre performance “Mickiewicz Dances. Vilnius Romance’ (Cracovia Danza Court Ballet).
There were also international projects involving 265 Polish artists. A total of PLN 3.3 million was allocated for the implementation of international projects.
The Adam Mickiewicz Institute, in cooperation with partner institutions, implemented 18 projects under the motto “44 x Mickiewicz”. They included 76 events. The Institute also prepared the installation “Sol Salutis – the speech of numbers” by Jakub Woynarowski in 4 European cities associated with Adam Mickiewicz – Vilnius, Paris, Rome and Istanbul.
November saw the premiere in London of Adam Mickiewicz’s Ballads and Romances in English translation by Charles Kraszewski, published by the British-Dutch publishing house Glagoslav Publications in collaboration with the Polish Cultural Institute in London and the Book Institute.
Adrian Andrzejewski