The Workshops of Culture invite children aged 7-9 to set out on a journey following Oskar Kolberg’s footsteps.
A Primer of Tradition is a project run by the Workshops of Culture under the 2014 celebrations of the Oskar Kolberg Year, which was established on 6 December 2013 by the Polish Parliament upon the motion by Minister of Culture and National Heritage Bogdan Zdrojewski.
Oskar Kolberg was a composer and the most prolific folklorist in the 19th century Europe. He published 33 volumes of monographs, where he recorded a true image of Polish folk art and culture. He thought that preserving tradition will lay a foundation for Poland’s independence. In terms of its quantity and concept, Kolberg’s work was an unprecedented undertaking given the folkloristics of that time, which is already illustrated by the title of the series: The Polish folk, its customs, lifestyle, speech, legends, proverbs, rituals, superstitions, plays, songs, music and dances.
The project is a series of educational workshops on traditional culture of the Lublin Province. Children will meet folk artisans, musicians and culture animators. The series involves 14 classes on such topics as Oskar Kolberg and his life and work, folk dresses, traditional music and children’s plays, handicraft and folk art, rites and customs, food, folk knowledge. Children will learn how to throw pots on the potter’s wheel, incorporate elements of traditional dresses into modern fashion, or discover customs of the traditional Polish wedding Assisted by the members of the Dziobak Brothers Ensemble, they will get to know traditional instruments, dances, melodies and plays from the Lublin Province. Each class will be a new problem, a new re-discovery of the traditional and a new load of fun!
Under the project, we have prepared a printed booklet, A Primer of Tradition, with selected topics and problems on the Lublin Province’s traditional culture. The booklet contains a CD with an animated film on Oskar Kolberg’s life and work as well as traditional melodies performed by the Dziobak Brothers Ensemble.
Participation in the project is an opportunity to gain new knowledge and skills, to develop creativity as well as make friendships with other programme participants. The aim of the project is to imbue in children a passion for searching for family traditions, hopefully giving at the same time their grandparents and parents an opportunity to bring back childhood memories.
We also strongly encourage teachers to participate in the classes as auditors.
The classes will be held from June 30 to July 13. Admission free. You can sign up only for the whole series of classes. Enrollment in an individual workshop is not possible. To sign up, phone 81 533 08 18.
