The International Street Artists’ Festival „Ulicznicy” is the biggest cultural event in Gliwice. The Festival has been running for four years and has become one of the city’s main cultural attractions. The annual festival, spanning over two summer holiday months, holds over 40 events : concerts, performances, film screenings and happenings.
Choose the Thursday open-air cinema in the Old Town, a weekend concert – jazz, etno, folk, classical, electronica or hip-hop. Watch a break dance show, jugglers, fire-show artists or a performance of a street theatre. Under the stars, in the middle of town, without tickets; for as long as you like – a short while or a few hours; however you choose. A unique opportunity to get away from the mundane, to play along with the artists – the well-known ones and the new talents.
The Festival has always been about openness, uniqueness and talent – the city streets have seen a live performance of the legendary Maciej Maleńczuk heard the elite of Polish folk – Orkiestra św. Mikołaja, Żywiołak, Kapela Brodów, Gadająca Tykwa, Yerba Mater, L’ombelico del Mondo; as well as the French Companie Jo Bithume, Czech Cankisou, Kumbalu and Slovak Longital. There was reggae in an improvised city beach, cabaret shows, happenings, film screenings – all crowned by spectacular street theatre presentations.
Anyone can take part in the open juggling workshop run by the invited performers and meet the masters of street show, whose presence changes the Park, Old Town and Airport into a colourful land full of unusual personalities.
Add photographic workshops and street exhibitions, with Polish photography icons – Tomasz Tomaszewski, Witold Krassowski leading the Street Photo Fights, photowalks, photo-projects like the Street Atelier.
And so – as every year – the festival is full of new, and, we hope – still fresh and inspiring artistic adventures for the entire summer.
See you in the Gliwice Old Town !
Piotr Chlipalski
festival director
Photos : Freaks Frasques from France.