No walls

Technique: metal installation

Dimensions: –

Object: Maria Kalińska’s No Walls/żadnych ścian installation forms part of the Gdańsk Open-Air Sculpture Gallery. It was created as part of the “Crossroads of Freedom” Festival of Spatial Forms, inspired by the idea of freedom in Gdańsk. The event took place from 2009 to 2019 and included an international spatial form and artistic installation competition, an international wood sculpture plein-air, a seminar on art in public space and numerous accompanying events. Freedom, the main idea of the festival, was also the theme of the annual competition. It was understood not only in terms of the subject matter, but also form of execution and freedom of artistic expression.

No Walls / żadnych ścian won third prize in the spatial form category of the festival competition and was consequently erected in the Ronald Reagan Park. In her work, the artist draws attention to the problem of intolerance, while urging for openness to other cultures, which may often strike us as alien and incomprehensible. The installation consists of four red metal frames set opposite each other on the horizontal plan of a circle. The structures represent cultures of the world. The form of two of them refers to Arab and Middle Eastern architecture. The third structure is crowned with an oval referring to medieval portals placed in arched recesses. The fourth frame is rectangular in reference to the modern world, which strives for minimalism. Its simple geometric form, limited to three lines, corresponds to the modernist tendencies in 20^th century art, where the form results from the function. The frames act as a gateway of sorts to other cultures. The door in itself, an architectural symbol of passage in the sphere of freedom, loses its original meaning in the installation. It no longer functions as a barrier or fence, and becomes a connector, inviting us to engage in dialogue with different cultures and beliefs, to open up to others, and thus to true freedom.

Place: The Gdańsk Open-Air Sculpture Gallery, established as part of the “Crossroads of Freedom” Festival of Spatial Forms, is located in the park named after President Ronald Reagan, an honorary citizen of Gdańsk. The gallery may be found in the part of the park situated in the Brzeźno neighbourhood. The 85 ha park stretches along the coastal belt of Gdańsk, encompassing the districts of Przymorze Wielkie, the western part of Brzeźno and the eastern part of the Żabianka-Wejhera-Jelitkowo-Tysiąclecia quarter. This area used to be occupied by temporary allotment gardens and wasteland. The plan to develop the seaside area for recreational purposes was drawn up in 2001 and implemented in stages until 2014. In addition to areas where one can relax, engage in physical activity or make a bonfire, the park was diversified with outflow ponds with living shorelines and nesting islands for waterbirds. In 2008, the Ronald Reagan Park in Gdańsk received a distinction from the Society of Polish Town Planners (TUP), which recognized it as the best managed green space in Poland.

Information about the author: none

Condition of the object: no remarks

Owner/guardian: Gdańsk Community Foundation

Author of the entry: Dorota Kucharczyk