Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Shaping public urban space for culture events

2012; Exeley Inc; Volume: 5; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

2720-6947

Anna Pawlikowska‐Piechotka, Maciej Piechotka,

Polish socio-economic development

S t r e s z c z e n i e Cel badan: Wydarzenia kulturalne byly zawsze obecne w przestrzeni miasta, tradycyjnie są silnym magnesem dla mieszkancow i dla turystow. Glownym celem naszych badan (prowadzonych w Roku Szopenowskim 2010 w Warszawie) bylo rozeznanie jaka jest rola wielkich wydarzen kulturalnych dla zrownowazonego rozwoju miasta, dla jego promocji, dla rozwoju turystyki kulturowej; jaki mają wplyw na spolecznośc lokalną. Material badan: Aby zgromadzic dane statystyczne, poznac punkt widzenia gości (turystow) i stalych mieszkancow przeprowadziliśmy badania źrodlowe (Towarzystwo im. Fryderyka Chopina, Muzeum Fryderyka Chopina, Urząd Miasta) i terenowe (ankiety uliczne w latach 2010-2011), umozliwiające zebranie danych ilościowych (statystycznych) i jakościowych (opinie osob ankietowanych). Wnioski koncowe: Obchody Roku Szopenowskiego w 2010 roku odbiegaly od poprzednich, przede wszystkim innym przygotowaniem przestrzeni publicznej i zalozeniem, ze wiele imprez bedzie mialo charakter otwarty i ciągly. W rezultacie nie tylko wąska grupa melomanow ale tysiące zwyklych turystow, a takze spolecznośc lokalna mogli w nich uczestniczyc dzieki odpowiedniemu przygotowaniu przestrzeni publicznej. K e y w o r d s : Public space; Cultural events; Local community; Sustainable development. Public space, in the sense of democracy, is one of the few services that every single person benefits from: whether rich or poor, young or old [1] 1/2012 A R C H I T E C T U R E C I V I L E N G I N E E R I N G E N V I R O N M E N T 5 A R C H I T E C T U R E C I V I L E N G I N E E R I N G E N V I R O N M E N T The Si les ian Univers i ty of Technology No. 1/2012 interesting festivals, concerts, theatre performances, historic battle reinstallations. But rarely one attraction is enough: naturally cultural tourism is based on the whole mosaic of places, traditions, art forms, celebrations and experiences [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Moreover, the special education value might be considered if cultural tourism is connected with “high arts” (museums, classical music) [6, 7]. Polish towns are associated with many famous musicians: Frederick Chopin, Witold Lutoslawski, Ignacy Paderewski and more recently with Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki, Wojciech Kilar, Krzysztof Komeda-Trzcinski, Krzysztof Penderecki. On the base of outstanding composers of classical and contemporary music connections, every year Polish cities host a wide range of concerts and festivals. Among them the Witold Lutoslawski Music Festival, Jazz Jamboree Festival, Warsaw Autumn Music Festival, Summer Music Gardens, and Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival – are music events with international recognition. However, in 2010, the exceptional events important for local community and attracting numerous visitors were connected with “Chopin Year 2010”. To celebrate the 200th Anniversary of Chopin’s birthday there was a series of concerts which took place from the 22nd of February (Chopin’s Birthday) to the end of the year 2010. Many of these events were open – air arranged, with a free of charge accessibility guaranteed, being an attraction for both tourists and local community members. It was clear that both visitors and city inhabitants rediscovered a kind of unity during these culture events and that this effect was due to innovative architecture and urban design which responded to this need, helped to form a sense of public spirit, identification of space and order [1]. 2. SHAPING URBAN PUBLIC SPACE FOR CHOPIN YEAR 2010 2.1 Research Methods and Materials The year 2010, which was the 200th anniversary of Frederick Chopin birth, Capital City Council of Warsaw dedicated to our famous composer memory. Undoubtedly many events organised in Warsaw (and in other Polish cities) were a significant tourist magnet and had a special role in regional promotion and in cultural education [8, 9]. We decided that it was of the special research value to consider how deeply cultural tourism was connected with “high arts” (on the example of Chopin Year 2010 events in Warsaw) and how well the public space responded to this need. Consequently the main aim of our survey was to: – recognize the role and contribution of urban culture in marketing a city’s image exemplified through the Chopin Year 2010 in Warsaw – understand the role of public space in promoting “high art” (Chopin myth) – analyse the direct and indirect outcomes arising from the 200th Anniversary of Chopin’s birthday (in both the context of cultural tourism development and from the local community perspective) – consider how effectively public space was shaped for open – air culture events and how it helped to integrate society (visitors and local community) Seeking answers for the following questions required application of different research methods and tools: qualitative approach together with quantitative approach [10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15]. To examine urban tourism from the local community perspective and to obtain primary data we have undertaken the explanatory research. It was based on observation, social survey work and interviews in form of semi-scheduled questionnaire – providing a basis to explain some phenomenon (undertaken in April and May 2010). Our evaluative research helped us to recognise the policy of Warsaw City Council on culture events and sustainable tourism. We also used (as secondary data), academic literature review, statistic information and materials obtained from the Frederick Chopin Museum in Warsaw and the National Institute of Frederick Chopin. Research for this paper results also from an extensive academic literature and popular literature review, including a systematic review of the bulletins issued in 2010 in Warsaw to commemorate Chopin Year (as “Chopin Express” published during the 16th International Frederick Chopin Competition or “Chopin” published by the Frederick Chopin National Institute in Warsaw) [8, 9, 16, 17, 18]. Field studies were ongoing between 2010 and 2011 and this paper describes the main outcomes resulting from this survey. 2.2. Main Results: Case study of Chopin Year 2010 When celebrating the “Chopin Year 2010”, it was a time of many important cultural events, such as for example: the International Frederick Chopin Festival, the 16th International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition, series of Chopin Concerts under the Willow Tree in the Royal Łazienki Park in Warsaw, re-opening the Frederick Chopin Museum in Warsaw, “Chopin Walking Route” and “Chopin Multimedia Benches” [Figure 1]. These cultural projects were organised mainly by the Capital City 6 A R C H I T E C T U R E C I V I L E N G I N E E R I N G E N V I R O N M E N T 1/2012 A . P a w l i k o w s k a P i e c h o t k a , M . P i e c h o t k a