Yareal Polska - cooperation with the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw

Yareal Polska, in cooperation with the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, is staging a contest for students and graduates of the Faculty of Media Art. The goal of the contest is to select a design that will provide the basis for a large-scale sculpture situated in the LIXA office complex.

Yareal Polska’s latest initiative, which emphasizes a fresh look at public space that is reflected in creating a link between architecture and art, is the recently announced contest held in cooperation with the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw.

The one-stage contest, addressed to students of the Media Imaging Studio and graduates of the Faculty of Media Art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, is aimed at creating a large-scale outdoor sculpture designed specifically for the architectural space of the LIXA office campus. The sculpture is supposed to blend in with the existing space and be an integral part of the current landscape. At the same time, it will act as an element identifying the location.

“The goal of the contest, organized in cooperation with the Academy of Fine Arts, is both to demonstrate a fresh perspective on public space and to stimulate the creativity of young talent. This is a unique opportunity for students to showcase their potential and a crucial step towards the creation of inspiring and innovative urban spaces. Through this initiative, we intend to express our commitment to the cultural and artistic development of the city and its surroundings. The selection of the project, which will provide a basis for the sculpture at the LIXA campus, will not only highlight the uniqueness of the place, but also strengthen the bond between architecture and art,” said Jacek Zengteler, President of Management Board, Yareal Polska.

Another goal of the contest is to promote the teaching achievements of the Faculty of Media Art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and to stress the cooperation between business and Warsaw’s art education. The coordinator and secretary of the contest on the part of the Academy of Fine Arts is Katarzyna Stanny, PhD, professor of the Academy, Vice-Dean for student affairs and part-time studies in the Media Imaging Studio.

“Our interdisciplinary Faculty of Media Art is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. It is with enthusiasm and joy that we have responded to Yareal Poland’s invitation to create an outdoor, urban art object in front of the building in Kasprzaka street and in this way become part of the creative process in public space. The Wola District has a rich tradition of exhibiting sculptures, going back to the 1970s. Combining some aspects of this tradition with urban ecology and contemporary art is likely to be of great interest to the participants of the contest. An artist working in the area of contemporary art should be as interdisciplinary as possible and should have creative skills in a wide range of activities, in which, in addition to the external form, the concept, openness to the conditions proposed by the art patron, and often awareness and the ability to respond to what is going on in the world around us are present,” Katarzyna Stanny, PhD, commented.

The deadline for student submissions is 31 May 2024. The results of the contest will be announced in early June. Also in June, a post-contest exhibition of the submitted proposals will be held at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw as part of the year-end projects. The placement of the sculpture selected in the contest and its unveiling in front of the LIXA campus on the side of Kasprzaka street is scheduled for early autumn 2024.

The LIXA campus is the largest office project in the history of Yareal Polska. The complex fits perfectly with Yareal Polska’s ESG-compliant sustainable development strategy. One of the elements that make LIXA stand out is the LIXA City Gardens concept. The idea it to create a new urban fabric and a unique public space, open for both the office employees, local community, guests and clients looking for an interesting place to spend their free time and unwind. The LIXA City Gardens concept features numerous retail and food and beverage outlets on the ground floors of the individual buildings (including along the 150-metre-long public walkway).

During the development of the LIXA complex, Yareal Polska also handled the renovation of the famous sculpture presenting Marcin Kasprzak, patron of the Radio Works, which operated in Warsaw’s Wola District for many years. In consultation with the city authorities, the statue by Aleksander Pawlik was carefully restored and returned to its original location in January 2024.

The LIXA office campus has been developed in stages in the Warsaw business hub in the downtown Wola District, just a short walking distance from the Rondo Daszyńskiego metro station. The campus was designed by the renowned architectural studio HRA Architekci. The LIXA complex comprises five buildings totalling 77,000 m2.