BWA Krosno - bwakrosno.pl

Maryna Marukhnych, 24 years old, from Ukraine. Salome Vatsadze, 24 years old, from Georgia. Büşra Vural, 23 years old, from Turkey. Mathilde Heumez, 19 years old, from France.

This autumn, the BWA gallery welcomed Maryna, Salomé, Bushra and Mathilde, four young volunteers, thanks to the European Solidarity Corps programme. Brimming with creativity, they are eager to bring new life to the gallery and make it an attractive cultural space for a new young audience, and even more interesting to regular visitors. Our volunteers created, organised and carried out different group activities in the gallery during their two-month volunteering period.

Every Thursday, our volunteers organised group activities to explore each other's creativity, participate in debates in English, learn more about other cultures or use their thinking skills in games. The initiative was to offer young people from the town and surrounding area an opportunity to participate in extra-curricular and inter-cultural events while having fun. 

20th October — Game night. 
27th October and 17th November — Fashion workshop.
3th November and 24th November — English speaking club.
10th November — Escape game.
1st December — Christmas workshop.

Every Tuesday and Wednesday, the girls went to the language classes of the schools and colleges of the city of Krosno to share with the students about their country and their cultures, such as the national cuisine or the national art. This exchange with the young students is a moment of sharing and discovering the travel and volunteering opportunities offered by the European Solidarity Corps programme. Our volunteers were always warmly welcomed by the schools of the town, which only reinforced their impressions of the kindness of the people of Krosno. 

When they first arrived, it was difficult for them to understand the quietness of the city of Krosno, influenced by their own cultures and countries. They gradually discovered new places in the city such as museums, restaurants, cafes and shops that make Krosno a city rich in infrastructure and cultural activities. The friendliness of the shopkeepers and inhabitants only increased their impression that Krosno is sometimes a quiet town, but is also full of life. 

During this volunteer experience, the girls each individually organised events related to their respective fields and personalities. Some of them challenged themselves personally and professionally, while others used their knowledge and experience to benefit the gallery. 

Salome, a photography enthusiast, wanted to create a photo exhibition about the city of Krosno. Together with Robert Jurczyk, a photographer from Krosno, they made and exhibited about 20 pictures of the city in the BWA gallery. On 25 November 2022, the exhibition will be opened and Salome and Robert will share their impressions of this joint experience. This opportunity was particularly enriching for Salome, both from a personal and professional point of view.

Maryna, who has worked in many Ukrainian museums and is still employed in one of them, brought her experience to the gallery. She organised guided tours in English of the various exhibitions and also produced cartels, small informative texts on each work, for the exhibition Surrealistyczny Program Klinarny. Her collaboration with the artists and curators made the works of art more understandable and accessible to the public.

Bushra was inspired by her previous volunteering in the city of Rzeszow to organise an open café. This event, which took place several times during the month of November, was a time for our volunteers to share and discuss different topics with young people from the city of Krosno. We were able to learn more about each other and share facts about our cultures.