Sharon Lockhart: Little Review / Polish Pavilion, Venice Art Biennale 2017

Sharon Lockhart’s Little Review is the Polish contribution to the 57th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia in Venice, Italy. Curated by Barbara Piwowarska, the exhibition is organized by the Zachęta – National Gallery of Art.

Sharon Lockhart: Little Review / Polish Pavilion, Venice Art Biennale 2017. Exhibition walk-through, Venice (Italy), May 9, 2017.

Press text (excerpt):
Sharon Lockhart’s Little Review will be presented in the Polish Pavilion at this year’s 57th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. Created through a longstanding relationship with the young women of the Youth Center for Socio-Therapy in Rudzienko, Lockhart’s project foregrounds an unmediated expression of youth, collaboration as an essential means of sharing in others’ experiences, and the social potential of art making. Curated by Barbara Piwowarska, the exhibition will open on May 13, 2017 and is organized by the Zachęta – National Gallery of Art, one of the most important art galleries in Poland.
Little Review is a multifaceted project that includes new artwork, historical translations, and an ongoing series of gen- erative workshops taking place in and around Warsaw. An artistic and educational philosophy that privileges the unique voice and experience of young people is central to Lockhart’s project. Implementing a structure centered on her two primary modes of work – film and photography – Lockhart creates a space for dynamic collaboration. Little Review celebrates and ampli es the distinct perspectives of the girls of the Youth Center for Socio-Therapy in Rudzienko, unifying their individual stories through a shared identi cation with Polish history and culture. The project’s namesake is the Mały Przegląd [Little Review], a historical newspaper supplement to the popular Nasz Przegląd [Our Review], written and ed- ited entirely by children. Founded by Polish-Jewish pediatrician, in uential pedagogue, and writer Janusz Korczak, Mały Przegląd achieved the core tenant of his practice: “giving a voice to the young.” Published every Friday from 1926 to the start of World War II on September 1, 1939, it featured sections on politics, travel, sports, and culture, written by chil- dren functioning as correspondents from all over Poland.
Lockhart’s presentation at the Polish Pavilion will include Mały Przegląd English translations in exclusive graphic layout designed by Błażej Pindor. Keeping in the tradition of Korczak’s theories, Lockhart’s Little Review establishes a new se- ries of educational workshops for the girls of the Youth Center for Socio-Therapy in Rudzienko focused on their speci c needs as they transition into adulthood.
“This project for the Polish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale is an expansion of my work with the girls of the Youth Center for Socio-Therapy in Rudzienko. I was nally able to work with all of the girls at the center, which is something I’ve always wanted. We worked directly with the archive of Mały Przegląd [Little Review] and the Polish National Library, discovering links between the past and present. The girls really responded to the newspaper created by Korczak and the timeless validation that children are people and their voices matter. This project was a true collaboration. It’s our Pavilion. These educational workshops with Zachęta and several Warsaw organizations create an integral element of the work. The hope is that these connections build a sustainable model for future workshops at the center for 2018 and [further] on” – says Lockart.

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