IRSA Foundation Projects 2011
September 14th-16th, 2010
Scientific Conference “History of Art in Europe”
The IRSA Foundation was a co-organizer of the international scientific conference “History of art history in Central, Eastern and South-eastern Europe” in Toruń. The conference celebrated the 200th anniversary of the first lecture in art history at the University of Vilnius.
Dr. Józef Grabski chaired the first session “Section A”: The Genesis of Art History as a Science” and gave a lecture entitled “The 30th Anniversary of the IRSA Institute of Art History Research”.
November 21st, 2010
First Meeting of the IRSA Foundation Council with the Foundation
The first official meeting of the Council of the Foundation for the Support of Culture IRSA took place. It was attended by the Founders and the President of the Foundation’s Management.
The Founders and the Council of the Foundation. From the left: Barbara Grabski – founder, Dr. Józef Grabski – President of the Foundation’s Board, prof. Dr. Andrzej Rottermund, attorney Stanisław Buczek – vice president of the Foundation’s Council, prof. Dr. Jan Ostrowski, Maria Grabski – founder, prof. Dr. Andrzej Szczeklik – president of the Foundation’s Council, Maurizio Gonzaga, prof. Dr. Karol Tarnowski, attorney Krystyna Sroczyńska-Trzebińska – secretary of the Foundation’s Council, Joanna Grabski – founder
April 9th, 2011
Visit to Vilnius
The Director of the IRSA Foundation, Dr. Józef Grabski, was invited by the Minister of Culture of Lithuania, Arūnas Gelūnas, to the inauguration of the Year of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1875-1911). After the concert performed by former Lithuanian President Vytautas Landsbergis, he was received by the President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė. During the meeting with the Minister of Culture of Lithuania and the President, the possible cooperation of the IRSA Foundation with the University of Kaunas was discussed. The project would concern documenting the art deco architecture as well as the influence of Bauhaus on urban planning of Kaunas as the capital of Lithuania in the interwar period until 1940.
June 20th-30th, 2011
Kremenets Open Air Painting Sessions
With the organizational and financial support of the IRSA Foundation, the Kremenets Open Air Painting Sessions in Ukraine were resurrected, a yearly tradition during the 1930s. Among Polish attendees were Roman Banaszewski and Ryszard Rogala. Ukrainian participants included: Anatoli Martyniuk, Oleg Denysenko, Volodymyr Lobun, Dmytro Stecko, Oleksandr Noga and the Ukrainian national artist Ivan Marczuk.
June 25th, 2011
Scientific Conference “The Kremenets Open Air Sessions in the 30s of the 19th Century – Tradition, Modernity, Perspectives”
The IRSA Foundation organized in Kremenets, Ukraine, a scientific conference dedicated to the heritage of the Kremenets open-air painting events. The conference speakers were: Józef Grabski, Waldemar Odorowski, Volodymyr Sobchuk, Urszula Kozakowska-Zaucha, Oleksandr Noga, Stefania KrzysztofowiczKozakowska, Janusz Antos, Jacek Cybis, Tomasz Gryglewicz, Jolanta Sheybal (on behalf of Aleksandra Sheybal-Rostek), Stanisław Rodziński, Helena Haśkiewicz, Aleksandra Panfilova, Andrij Klimaszewski and Bogusław Krasnowolski.
July 1st, 2011
Cooperation of IRSA Foundation with the Leonid Kuczma ‘Ukraine’ Foundation
Meeting in the headquarters of the “Ukraine” Foundation in Kiev to discuss cooperation with the IRSA Foundation for Cultural Culture. The former President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma – President of the Ukraine Foundation, Tatiana Melnyk – the vice-president of the Ukraine Foundation and the President of the IRSA Foundation for the Support of Culture, Dr. Józef Grabski, took part in the talks.
July 5th, 2011
Meeting with Ukraine’s Minister of Culture, Michailo Kulyniak
At the invitation of the Minister of Culture of Ukraine, Mr. Michailo Kulyniak, a meeting was held devoted to the possibilities of collaboration between the IRSA Foundation and the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine.
The invitation was the result of the success of the previously organized scientific conference in Kremenets, which was attended by representatives of Ukrainian scientific and cultural institutions from Kiev. Further possibilities of Polish-Ukrainian cooperation, and in particular the organization of shared open-air painting sessions, were discussed by the Ukrainian deputy minister of Culture Timofiej Kochan, Ukraine’s Folk Artist Oksana Biłozir, and Dr. Józef Grabski.
September 27th, 2011
Visiting Czesław Okińczyc in Vilnius
During a stay in Vilnius, the President of the IRSA Foundation paid a visit to the Ambassador Czesław Okińczyc, lawyer, Signatory of the Lithuanian Independence Act, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Lithuania, an adviser to Prime Minister RL, a sympathizer of the IRSA Institute. The talks concerned the involvement of the IRSA Foundation in the development of 19th and 20th-century architecture which is a common cultural heritage.
September 28th, 2011
Visit at the Vilnius Radio “Znad Wilii”
A visit to Radio “Znad Wilii” by prof. Dr. Andrzej Rottermund and dr. Józef Grabski. Interview on the radio concerned the problems of rebuilding and finishing the Castle of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania in Vilnius. Professor Dr. Andrzej Rottermund, member of the “IRSA Foundation” Council, shared with listeners his experience of rebuilding the Royal Castle in Warsaw.
September 28th, 2011
Meeting with the Lithuanian Chancellor
Meeting with the Chancellor of Lithuania, Deividas Matulionis, regarding the exchange of Polish-Lithuanian experiences in the reconstruction of the Royal Castle in Warsaw and the Castle of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania – built by Polish kings who also were the Grand Dukes of Lithuania.
October 12th, 2011
Frankfurt Book Fair
The IRSA Institute took part in the international book fair in Frankfurt am Main, bringing together publishers, booksellers, agents and authors from over 6,500 companies, and over 100 countries around the world. The ARTIBUS ET HISTORIAE journal, co-financed by the IRSA Foundation, was presented.
November 3rd, 2011
Conference in Kazan
On the occasion of the 130th birth anniversary of the artist Nicholas I. Fechin, the “The Second Kazan Art History Readings” scientific conference, devoted to the artist’s work, was organized by the Kazan University and the Museum of Art at the Kremlin in Kazan. The President of the IRSA Foundation, Dr. Józef Grabski, gave a lecture entitled “Through Practice, Observation of Nature and the Old Masters is Perfection. The Sources of Inspiration of Nicolai I. Fechin (1881-1955). “
November 30th, 2011
Cooperation with Chinese Scientists
At the invitation of the IRSA Foundation, as part of a long-term cooperation with Chinese scientists, the Chinese Institute of Art Studies visited the headquarters of the IRSA Institute of Art, preparing an article about Chinese art for the ARTIBUS ET HISTORIAE magazine.
As a result of joint efforts by the IRSA Institute of Art Research and the University of Shanghai, the Ph.D. student of Professor Yaochang, Ms. Chen Shujun could carry out research on the Polish film poster. Ms. Chen Shujun received a two-year scholarship in Poland to conduct research and to prepare her doctorate. She has previously organized a large exhibition on the Polish poster school in Shanghai. This exhibition toured in several major university cities in China, contributing to the outstanding achievements of Polish artists in the field of poster art.
December 10th, 2011
Visit of the founders of “Fondazione Romualdo del Bianco “to IRSA
Meeting of the founders of Fondazione Romualdo Del Bianco – Paolo Del Bianco and Giovanny Diani Del Bianco with the founders of the IRSA Foundation, Maria Grabski and Dr. Józef Grabski at the IRSA headquarters in Krakow. Contacts with Mrs. and Mr. Del Bianco date many years back to relationships between the Rotary Club Brunelleschi in Florence (whose president was Giovanna Diani Del Bianco), the, Rotary Club Firenze Est (whose active member is Paolo Del Bianco) and the Kraków Rotary Club Krakow (whose member is Dr. Grabski).
During the visit of the Italian guests, contacts and joint projects of the IRSA Foundation with Fondazione Romualdo Del Bianco were discussed.
December 16th, 2011
Visit from representatives of the Lviv Gallery and of the Pidhirtsi Castle Foundation
The director of the Potocki Palace in Lviv, from the branch of the Lviv Art Gallery, Oksana Kozinkiewicz and Wiktor Kusznirenko, the president of the Pidhirtsi Castle Foundation, which is also located in the Potocki Palace, visited the Krakow headquarters of the IRSA Institute.
Józef Grabski accepted the invitation to join the Board Committee of the Pidhirtsi Castle Foundation, joining three other Poles: movie director Jerzy Hoffman, former president Aleksander Kwaśniewski and the actor Daniel Olbrychski.
During the meeting, the results of the current cooperation between the IRSA Foundation and partners from Ukraine (open-air painting sessions in Krzemieniec 2011, the scientific conference “Kremenets in the 30s of the twentieth century” on June 25th, 2011) and prospective cooperation in the near future were discussed.