Upper Silesia is the largest industrial region in Poland. After World War II, during the communist era, the region turned into a local El Dorado – a land of mineral riches. Tens of thousands of people were hoping for work and better lives here. Alas, the socialist economy turned out to be a hidden time bomb for the region. When communism collapsed and Poland become a free market economy, it was Upper Silesia that suffered the harshest consequences. Many coal mines and steel plants were shut down, and people faced unemployment and lack of prospects. The smoking chimneys quickly disappeared from the horizon, and with them, many residents. Today, the region still exists as the industrial hub of our country yet it is also intensely searching for a new identity. Dynamic socioeconomic changes are giving Upper Silesia a new character. And yet not everybody benefits equally from these changes. If you turn around for a moment, you can still see the past prowling right behind you.
Tomasz Liboska
Photographer
Tomasz Liboska lives in Chorzow in Upper-Silesia, Poland. He graduated from Anthropology of Culture at Silesian University in Cieszyn, Poland, and Institute for Creative Photography in Opava, Czech Republic. He’s been working on his projects on Silesia for over 10 years. In his works he tries to find how people exist in society. That is why anthropological background is a clue for him. In his personal work the visual language is based on his own memories and experiences. Most important exhibitions were presented during Photomonth in Krakow, Hereford Photography Festival, New York Photo Festival, Athens Photo Festival, Belfast Photo Festival. His photographs were published in The New York Magazine, GEO, Newsweek, LaRepublica, Polityka, Duży Format, VICE, Feature Shoot, LensCulture, among others. He is a winner and finalist of many internationally recognized awards and grants such as LensCulture Visual Storytelling Awards, Leica Oscar Barnack Award, Photo District News, Photo Annual, Photolucida Critical Mass, among others.
Tomasz Liboska
Photographer
Tomasz Liboska lives in Chorzow in Upper-Silesia, Poland. He graduated from Anthropology of Culture at Silesian University in Cieszyn, Poland, and Institute for Creative Photography in Opava, Czech Republic. He’s been working on his projects on Silesia for over 10 years. In his works he tries to find how people exist in society. That is why anthropological background is a clue for him. In his personal work the visual language is based on his own memories and experiences. Most important exhibitions were presented during Photomonth in Krakow, Hereford Photography Festival, New York Photo Festival, Athens Photo Festival, Belfast Photo Festival. His photographs were published in The New York Magazine, GEO, Newsweek, LaRepublica, Polityka, Duży Format, VICE, Feature Shoot, LensCulture, among others. He is a winner and finalist of many internationally recognized awards and grants such as LensCulture Visual Storytelling Awards, Leica Oscar Barnack Award, Photo District News, Photo Annual, Photolucida Critical Mass, among others.
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Upper Silesia is the largest industrial region in Poland. After World War II, during the communist era, the region turned into a local El Dorado – a land of mineral riches. Tens of thousands of people were hoping for work and better lives here. Alas, the socialist economy turned out to be a hidden time bomb for the region. When communism collapsed and Poland become a free market economy, it was Upper Silesia that suffered the harshest consequences. Many coal mines and steel plants were shut down, and people faced unemployment and lack of prospects. The smoking chimneys quickly disappeared from the horizon, and with them, many residents. Today, the region still exists as the industrial hub of our country yet it is also intensely searching for a new identity. Dynamic socioeconomic changes are giving Upper Silesia a new character. And yet not everybody benefits equally from these changes. If you turn around for a moment, you can still see the past prowling right behind you.
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Made in Paris / Chagall, Matisse, MiróSep 1, 2023 – Jan 7, 2024For 130 years, Paris has been a centre for the production of original graphic works of art. As early as the late 19th century, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec or Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen created prints and original lithographic posters here, which were enthusiastically received and passionately collected by their contemporaries. (more…)
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Kanta Nomura / The Yoshida Dormitory Students’ HistoryPublicationThe Yoshida Dormitory is a self-governing dormitory that historically played a central role for students attending Kyoto University in Japan. Throughout the decades, it served as a place where the community gathered (more…)
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Alice Wang: The Touching TouchedOct 29, 2023 – Feb 18, 2024From October 29, 2023, to February 18, 2024, UCCA Dune presents Alice Wang: The Touching Touched. This is the most comprehensive institutional solo show of Alice Wang – presenting a survey of her sculptures, films, and photographs from 2013 to 2023, and a series of new sculptures commissioned by UCCA. Wang investigates the uncanny dimensions of the natural world through her bodily senses (more…)
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Julie van der Vaart / Blind SpotPublicationBlind Spot by artist Julie van der Vaart is a poetic exploration of the concepts of imaginary time and deep time. Photographs of the human body, caves and water(falls) are choreographed into disorientating sequences to reveal correlations between images. (more…)
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Mark RothkoArtist / PainterMark Rothko was born Marcus Rothkowitz on September 25, 1903, in Dvinsk, Russia. In 1913 his family left Russia and settled in Portland, Oregon. Rothko attended Yale University, New Haven, on a scholarship from 1921 to 1923. (more…)
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Joan JonasMar 17 – Jul 6, 2024Joan Jonas creates meditations on bodies, space, time, and nature. As she has explained, “The performer sees herself as a Medium: Information passes through.” The most comprehensive retrospective of Jonas’s work in the United States, this exhibition provides new insights (more…)
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Love Story: New Photography on Love and IntimacyPublicationLove is one of the most difficult things to photograph, yet this anthology of moving, unexpected images captures the heart of what it means to know and love another. From first love to lost love, these intimate portraits express the tenderness and vulnerability, passion and patience of this powerful emotion. (more…)
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Resistance Training: Arts, Sports, and Civil RightsAug 19, 2023 – Feb 18, 2024Resistance Training: Arts, Sports, and Civil Rights explores the shared values between artists and athletes in the advancement of social justice-related issues. Throughout history artists have looked to athletes and other public figures as sources of inspiration, encoding moments of social change in the works of art they create. This exhibition brings together a group of contemporary artists who investigate the intersection of sports and the advancement of civil rights in the United States. (more…)
