Association of Artists ‘Contur’

Association of Artists ‘Contur’ was founded in 1990 by a group of comic artists – graduates of the Łódź Art High School, later students of the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź. In the beginning, ‘Contur’ functioned as an informal association, later it transformed into officially registered one. In the founding document from 1994, one can read that “the goal of the association is to support artistic development in the field of graphic design and similar areas” and also “to begin and maintain international cultural exchange”. These goals are to be achieved by “organizing exhibitions, competitions and conventions” and by “organizing meetings, creative workshops and discussions”. It was the initiative of “Contur” to organize the International Festival of Comics, which has been held annually in Łódź since 1991. Other enterprises of “Contur” are e.g. international comics workshops ‘City Stories’, international cartoon competition ‘Big Boat of Humour’ or numerous exhibitions of Polish comic art, held in Poland and abroad.

Since 2002, Adam Radoń is the president of the association, vice presidents are Przemysław Truściński and Piotr Kasiński, Agnieszka Papis is the secretary, Marek Skotarski – treasurer. The audit commission’s members are: Tomasz Tomaszewski, Wojciech Birek and Michał Będkowski.

Łódź Cultural Center

Łódź Cultural Center is one of the oldest cultural institutions in the Lodzkie Voivodeship – it was founded in 1953. The building itself has the space of 7000 square meters, of which 5500 are destined to hold various cultural activities. The institution’s success can be measured by the number of its guests: participants of workshops, festivals, concerts, exhibitions, film screenings – over 450 thousand people a year. ŁDK, as it is popularly known, manages numerous cultural projects, many on an international scale. The International Festival of Comics and Games has become a European known brand and, year by year, attracts thousands of comics fans and internationally famous artists and illustrators. The Łódź Theatrical Meetings are one of the most important festival of alternative theater in Poland, with carefully selected program and many diverse workshops to choose from. The Łódź Choir Festival “Cantio Lodziensis” is an important, national area for confronting artistic achievements of choirs and vocal bands. The Łódź Review of Amateur Theaters “ŁóPTA” is still a significant opportunity for non-professional groups to present themselves in front of a bigger audience and to gain entrance into professional acting. The Łódź Shanty Meetings “KUBRYK” are nationally renowned for presenting folk and shanty musicians from Poland and abroad. Internationally acknowledged are the exhibitions presented by Gallery FF – after having been shown in ŁDK, they are often exhibited abroad. ŁDK has also delivered a series of exhibitions of Polish comics abroad and a number of “Fluo Sessions” – expositions of fluorescent art. Other important projects are e.g. Forum of Folk Artists – Landscape of All Saints – the reconstruction of traditional sideroad chapels in the Łódzkie Voivodeship, conducted since 2006; the Mountain Days or the Poetic City Rally.

ŁDK’s activity means 1200 film screenings a year in 2 cinemas; over 60 exhibitions taking place in 6 galleries (in 2010 ŁDK opened a new and unique gallery NT/IMAGINARIUM to present the art of new technologies); 160 main events a year (concerts, conferences, fairs, meetings with artists, lectures, presentations, debates etc.); 52 clubs and associations, 15 music bands, 5 theater groups, 5 rooms designed especially for holding big events, 7 conference rooms and 3 ballet and dance rooms with full multimedia support; 15 various courses (dancing, yoga, art); cultural information website Reymont.pl; cultural magazine for the city of Łódź and Łódzkie Voivodeship “Kalejdoskop”; publishing label “Kwadratura” for poetry.

In 2006 the director of ŁDK, Zbigniew Ołubek, was awarded with the title of a ‘Professional Manager for the Łódzkie Voivodeship” in the category ‘public sector’. In 2009 ŁDK received an award ‘Lodołamacz” in the category ‘non-business employer’ in the competition promoting solutions for the disabled; it also received a special prize of the Warsaw Comics Days for the exceptional input in the development of Polish comic art.