In 2019, we ran the „Medals in Prisons” project – a diversified arts and patriotic education programme that we implemented in coalition with other NGOs in two male prisons.
We invited the „Ad Solis” Foundation, the „Forma” Foundation and the „Nowolipie Group – Uskrzydleni” Foundation to cooperate. Each organisation carried out different activities and all of them became part of a series of workshops dedicated to one hundred years of Poland’s independence, prepared specifically for men in prison.
Session I
The lecture and multimedia presentation were dedicated to the process of regaining independence and its consolidation: the most important facts and figures of recent Polish history were introduced. The workshops were run by Marcin Prokop, a history enthusiast and a specialist in creating historical-patriotic programmes that are carried out by our foundation.
Session II
A meeting with soldiers of the Warsaw Uprising, gunman Jan Rybak a.k.a. Tarzan (Polish People’s Army) and Lieutenant Jerzy Mindziukiewicz a.k.a. Jur (Miotła Battalion of the Home Army): the road to independence told by direct participants of the Uprising. These workshops were prepared by the „Ad Solis” Foundation.
Session III
An introduction to medal-making hosted by Anna Zielińska from the „Forma” Foundation and the Reaktor Group – Sculpture Laboratory. It consisted of a presentation about the creation of medals, and in the practical part, designing medals and the glaze by the inmates.
Session IV
The clay medal sculpting workshops were led by artists from the Nowolipie Group, including Paweł Althamer. During the classes, the inmates made medals which were later fired and glazed by the artists and returned in their finished form to their authors who were in prison at the time.
The project „Medals in Prisons” was co-financed from the funds of the Multi-Annual Programme NIEPODLEGŁA for 2017-2022 as part of the Grant Programme „Coalitions for the Independent”.
