Poland

Oko na świat, Wytwórnia publishing house, Warsaw, Poland

Since September 2023, workshops for children and librarians have been held in libraries in the Warsaw region with various Polish artists.

On 23 and 24 March 2024, the festival of small independent publishers “Mały Koneser”, organised since 2022 by the Wytwórnia publishing house, offered a special edition Eye of the World. This festival creates a stage for small independent Polish publishing houses, a meeting place for ambitious, courageous and sensitive publishers, who care about both editorial craftsmanship and mastery of illustrations and text.

To open the festival, a professional day was organised on 22 March at the National Library in Warsaw, bringing together small independent Polish and international publishers as well as education and culture specialists to exchange their practices.

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Workshop „How to explain language” with Hanna Zwierzchowska

The inspiration for this workshop came from Carson Ellis’s book Zu dę daś? (original Du iz tak?). Carson Ellis takes us to a meadow where beetles and ladybirds have their own world, their own business and most importantly… their own insect language: what do the words ‘konej mazek, kłatposon’ mean? The delightfully detailed illustrations transport us into the insect microcosm and, thanks to them, we understand the meaning of the words spoken there. This award-winning book has been translated into over a dozen insect languages from all over the world! 15 children and their parents took part in this workshop.

Workshop „About a painter as red as a brick” with Hanna Wierzchowska

During the workshop, we read the book ‘O malarz rudym jak cegła’, written and illustrated by Polish graphic artist Janusz Stanny. This author’s book, first published in 1961, cemented his fame as an illustrator – the young Stanny was one of Henryk Tomaszewski’s most talented students. The book was simple and witty, perfectly composed – each page a clear narrative situation, drawn as soberly as possible with a synthetic line. The book was very modern 60 years ago and remains so today. 15 children and their families enjoyed this artistic moment.

Workshop “I see everything as art’ with Ewa Solarz

‘I see everything as art: weeding gardens, peeling potatoes, crocheting…. Art doesn’t have to be serious’ are the words of artist Julita Wójcik and the title of a children’s book on contemporary art written by Ewa Solarz. During the workshop, the author of the book explains to the children why it is worth going to museums, tells them about the fascinating ideas of artists and encourages them to make art together. 22 primary school pupils took part in the workshop.

Workshop inspired by the book of Sara Lundberg “The birds within me”

This workshop was specially prepared for librarians at the start of the project, as a way of involving them in the ‘Eye of the World’ project. The training is part of the project, as is the professional day. 50 Polish librarians were able to take part. It was led by Hanna Zwierzchowska.

Poland

Professionnal day Oko na swiat, gathered 240 professionals from all around Poland, mostly librarians, teachers, authors and publishers to discuss about transmitting books to children.

Wytwórnia Publishing

Since its creation, Wytwórnia has set itself the ambition of reviving the tradition of excellence of Polish illustration from the 1960s, while at the same time bringing innovation and quality to the Polish picture book market. Maintaining a small size by conviction, Wytwórnia publishes between ten and fifteen titles per year. Contemporary interpretation of classics, collaboration with young and daring graphic designers, social commitment, attention paid to cultural identity, these are the broad outlines traced by fifteen years of editorial work. Considering above all the young reader as a demanding partner.