The publication entitled ‘Acting Together’ was born out of a need to bring together different community-forming initiatives present in our immediate milieu. … Without persons who co-create and participate in Poznań’s cultural life, there would be no process-based exhibitions at the Municipal Gallery Arsenał, DOMIE would not emerge as an experiment in collective care, and there would be no project engaging people with multiple sclerosis at Zamek Cultural Centre. The field of art is built upon a complex network of relations and is dependent on a number of contexts: climatic, economic, political, and institutional; in those frames, permanent and temporary assemblages are created—sometimes by the force of attraction, sometimes out of necessity. While institutions solidify various ongoing processes, ephemeral collectives, such as Sandra Art Gallery, or local Solstice/Equinox rituals, introduce ferment and invite change. What they have in common is acting together, which we understand as moving beyond the individual experience, where it becomes crucial to recognize interdependencies, and acknowledge their importance. … We attempt to learn and unlearn each other, seek comfort and then move outside our comfort zone. We believe that knowledge is forged in action, in a specific, material condition, in the process of establishing relationships that breed conflicts, give rise to emotions, and resist; but also—provide a sense of agency. We wish that with the help of this publication this sense of collective agency in acting together would be maintained.

participants: Nina Budzyńska, Bartek Lis, Martyna Miller, Aleksandra Polerowicz, Jacek Zwierzyński, Rafał Żarski

moderators: Zofia nierodzińska, Tomek Pawłowski-Jarmołajew

the discussion will be translated into Polish Sign Language