Tivoli Theatre Dublin

?mielów in Vietnam, Warlikowski in Athens

From the start of July, Polish embassies all over the world have been holding exhibitions, concerts and conferences promoting Poland’s EU Presidency.

Concert welcome

On Friday, 1st July, the Lithuanian National Dramatic Theatre was the venue of a concert given by the MozART Group, a Polish string quartet. It was organised by the Polish Institute of Vilnius and the St Christopher Summer Festival. The following day a photo board exhibition titled ‘Warsaw – let’s meet’ opened at Town Hall Square in the Lithuanian capital. It featured the photography of Przemys?aw Zacharuk.

The Polish Presidency was also ushered in by a concert in Copenhagen. Rafa? Blechacz performed at prestigious Tivoli Hall, and on Sunday, 3rd July, the Marcin Wasilewski Trio presented a jazz concert in the National Gallery auditorium.

Nearly 2,000 people celebrated in Armenia. An evening of Polish music, hosted by the Polish Embassy, was presented at Yerevan’s main square. For more than two hours, residents of the Armenian could enjoy Polish hits old and new with Yerevan’s fountains dancing to their rhythm.

Open-air events were also held in Slovenia. The international ensemble Grzech Piotrowski World Orchestra performed a concert at the Križanke Amphitheatre. Artists blending elements of jazz, folk, impressionism and film music garnered an enthusiastic reception from a wide audience. The event’s guests of honour was the chairman of the upper house of the National Council, Slovenia’s parliament, Blaž Kav?i? and his wife.

Polish cultural offensive

As part of the Hellenic Festival 2011 (Greece’s most prestigious contemporary culture institution), Warsaw’s Nowy Theatre on 1st July in Athens presented a play titled (A)pollonia, directed by Krzysztof Warlikowski. Some 2,500 spectators applauded the performance of Poland’s best actors including Andrzej Chyra, Magdalena Cielecka, Danuta Stenka, Maja Ostaszewska and Maciej Stuhr (and the play was staged four times).

An exhibition of Polish artistic porcelain from the ?mielów porcelain works was held at the Fine Arts Museum in the capital of Vietnam. The exhibition’s central section comprised a collection of 46 painted porcelain images — Europe’s beautiful apes. They depicted images of monkeys against the background of architectural motifs, landscapes and elements characteristic of all European countries. Also exhibited are 28 porcelain figures of people and animals. The ceramics of Boles?awiec, on the other hand, could be admired at a Polish Picnic in Bratislava, hosted by the local Polish Institute.

Pursued by a Bear » If you only do one thing this weekend …

, An exhibition of some of Ireland’s top graffiti artists, with work from the likes of Rask, Cisto, Goner, Jor, Elsi, Dats, Jack, TDA and SBC. All City Records is helping to pull this lot together as part of its 10-year anniversary, and it is also hosting a graffiti jam up in the Tivoli Theatre, Dublin 8 on Saturday. That event kicks off at 11am until 6pm.

See: What happens when you mix the blood and passion of Spanish theatre with the seething, quite anger of an Irish rural setting? Curam Theatre Company hopes to find out with its latest production. It has taken Federico Garcia Lorca’s tragedy Blood Wedding and dragged into the Irish countryside. Family reputations and status in a tight community are dragged through the small streets, when a bride elopes on her wedding morning with her childhood sweetheart. Ronnie McCann has adapted the original text, and the production has more than 20 cast members, so expect plenty of theatrical fireworks at the Project Arts Centre in Dublin. Click here for more details .