by Piotr Turkiewicz
“I come from an arts background and I have been working in the Arts Management for the last five years. The main reason why the 2nd Asia-Europe Young Urban Leaders Dialogue was relevant to my work is that in two years’ time, we will be opening a new concert hall in Poland—The National Forum of Music. This new space for art will be built in the heart of the city of Wroclaw.
It is a challenging period for us as we are working hard on preparing the city for this new artistic venue: four different halls with exhibition spaces with the Wroclaw Opera House on the other side of the square will add a new quality of cultural experience for visitors.
Being part of the 2nd AEYULD was first and foremost, a great opportunity to meet fantastic and inspiring people from around the world. For me, it was important to exchange ideas with young professionals who are not directly connected with the arts; it changes the perspective and allows you to look at the challenges from a different angle. The Dialogue reassured me of how important it is not to create a public space in a social vacuum and how crucial it is to the development of a big city to build cultural spaces which citizens will consider as their own.
Only then will we be able to truly transform lifestyles by encourage people that the so called ‘high-arts’ is not something disconnected from the surrounding reality.”
About the author
Piotr Turkiewicz, a Polish national, is the Artistic Director at the National Forum of Music in Wroclaw. He joined the 2nd Asia-Europe Young Urban Leaders Dialogue held at the Madrid Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo (26-28 July 2010)