In 1962, Picelj initiated a series of his self-published “Edition a” art booklets, having released a total of seven publications up until 1964. Each issue of “Edition a” featured the work of one artist —mostly of a colleague whose work he admired.
In 1962, Picelj initiated a series of his self-published “Edition a” art booklets, having released a total of seven publications up until 1964. Each issue of “Edition a” featured the work of one artist —mostly of a colleague whose work he admired.
From 21 to 30 August 2026, the Creative Work Centre of the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław hosted ‘Place’, a sculpture workshop jointly organised by the Academy and OmenaArt Foundation.
It began with a single word: “Place”. For some, it meant a space; for others, a memory, a relationship or a personal experience. Any of these associations could become the starting point for a sculpture. Over ten days in August, young artists in Luboradów explored how to give them form in poplar wood.
From 21 to 30 August 2026, the Creative Work Centre of the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław hosted ‘Place’, a sculpture workshop jointly organised by the Academy and OmenaArt Foundation. Five fourth- and fifth-year sculpture students took part: Julia Król, Julia Magdalena Ornaf, Kinga Pitala, Marta Gacek and Igor Mastak. Under the guidance of curator Marek Ruszkiewicz, each developed an individual project, seeking a personal response to the shared theme.
The journey from an initial association to a finished work unfolded through sketches, models and successive experiments. Ideas gradually took on shape – and, quite literally, weight. Working in wood meant engaging with the scale and physicality of sculpture, discovering how an imagined form could be realised in the material. The surroundings became an important point of reference: the landscape of Luboradów, the closeness of nature and a daily rhythm different from life at the Academy.
The time away gave participants the opportunity to stay with an idea, try a new approach and explore alternatives. It was a chance not only to experiment, but also to make independent artistic decisions. As the work progressed, the sculptures took shape while their creators gained experience.
The “Place” workshop showed how important time, space and the opportunity to work outside the everyday rhythm of the Academy are to the development of young artists. Luboradów provided the conditions for experimentation, attentive engagement with the material and testing ideas against nature and the scale of sculpture. It is in situations like these that artistic independence emerges and an individual creative language matures, says Dr Marek Ruszkiewicz, who led the workshop and heads the Department of Sculpture and Spatial Practices at the Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław.
Creating these conditions was the purpose of OmenaArt Foundation’s involvement as co-organiser and financial supporter of the event. In Luboradów, support for young artists took a tangible form: the opportunity to devote ten days to developing an original work, from the earliest explorations to a finished sculpture. This forms part of the Foundation’s wider efforts to support artists as they develop their skills and undertake their first independent projects.
“Place” also marked the beginning of a collaboration between OmenaArt Foundation and the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław and its Faculty of Sculpture and Art Mediation. This new partnership strengthens the Foundation’s ties with Polish art academies, helping to support the next generation of artists at the outset of their careers.
After ten days, the first intuitions had become new sculptural works. Yet behind each piece lay a process that the object alone could not reveal: experiments, conversations, explorations and decisions. These, too, were part of “Place” – an experience of working together in which each participant sought their own path.
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