About us GAK

Gdański Archipelag Kultury (GAK) is a network of eight city cultural centres and two creative groups operating in seven districts of Gdańsk. We want and endeavour to be spaces open to the needs of the local inhabitants, and create places in which one may develop their interests, acquire cultural competencies and meet one’s neighbours regardless of age, gender, dysfunctions, religion, or nationality.
We provide space for activity and creativity to formal and informal groups of inhabitants – such as the Ukrainian choir Vyrij and groups of youths and seniors who have an opportunity to develop their creative passions.

Additionally, having in mind the physical well-being of our Gdańsk citizens, we open an ice rink in the winter. In the summer, we organise a Mobile Cultural Centre, which reaches the districts of Gdańsk in which no institutions of culture operate on a daily basis.

We seek to create BROAD CULTURE.

“Broad culture is a complementation, a counterbalance and counterpoint to established and generally accepted performative-commercial culture […].. If mainstream culture seeks perfection in a narrow domain and sets up a division into the artists and the audience, broad culture develops horizontally. It is close and accessible; it engages people in common efforts, it teaches and encourages direct participation.”

(a quotation after Marcin Skrzypek. Kultura szeroka. Księga wyjścia. Broad Culture. The Book of Coming-out, transl. by Konrad Szulga, Adam Głaz )

OUR BRANCHES:

GAK GAMA
There is a small cultural centre closely focused on its neighbours – the inhabitants of a small district
of Letnica, which has its own traditions and has been developing dynamically. It offers artistic and integrating intergenerational activities. It invites artists and animateurs from the Tri-City to cooperate. It is here that one may, regardless of age, develop their interests in arts and crafts, music and theatre,
s well as participate in cultural meetings of neighbours. The most important projects include the cycle Exhibition in the Window [Wystawa w oknie], a Convention of Letnica Inhabitants and home recording workshops which enjoy popularity in the Tri-City. GAMA GAK has plans for developing its artistic activity
in the public spaces of the district. It is also here that a Ukrainian choir Vyrij is active.

GAK DOM SZTUKI
There is located in the coastal neighbourhood of Stogi. Our main goal is to provide the local community with affordable (often free) cultural events, including workshops, exhibitions, concerts and educational projects. Apart from events related to arts and crafts, music and sports, which are open to everyone regardless of age, we also offer activities addressed to the elderly citizens. Nevertheless, our main focus is on dance: we are proud to have almost 200 learners of all ages learning hip hop and modern dance styles. Our dance teams BLITZ and TRAFIC keep winning prizes in nationwide competitions on a regular basis! Since we are a public institution, a part of our mission is to care for the local community and seek partnerships. We are open for everyone willing to share their creative ideas. We try to spread the belief that art serves the whole community, helping it to grow and bringing people together. We encourage everyone to cherish their creative soul with us to feel connected, valued and happy.

GAK SCENA MUZYCZNA
It is located in one of the most peaceful and beautiful places of the southern part of Gdańsk – Park Oruński. Our activities are centred around the organisation of diverse cultural events – people may visit us to listen to concerts, join in a discussion at a meeting of the Film Club Kosmos, or participate in interesting arts and crafts activities or workshops. In the summer we invite our audience to participate in outdoor events in the Emilia Hoene Park of Orunia [Park Oruński], providing an opportunity for them to listen to Chopin’s music as a part of the cycle Frederick’s Romantism (Romantyka Fryderyka) or the singing actors in the Amfiteatr Orana, or to take the kids to children’s theatre shows as a part of the project Theatre at High Noon (Teatr w samo południe).
We are the producer of the Gdańsk New Year’s Eve Night taking place in several districts, as well as the annual Midsummer Festival. We also operate at Plac Zebrań Ludowych all year long, organising an ice rink in the winter, and the largest outdoor events in Gdańsk in the summer.

GAK PLAMA
Plama is a cultural centre with a rich history, located in a district of high blocks of flats and mural paintings. The love of art, alternative creation and artistic education have been reigning here for the past 30 years. In the summer, PLAMA runs the Teatr w Blokowisku [Theatre on the Housing Estate], staging shows addressed to children and adults, which since its beginning (2008) has its own repertoire and is open to independent events, artists acting on the border of different forms, and socially-involved initiatives. Plama also organises concerts, exhibitions, outdoor cinema shows, meetings with travellers, poetry slams, and local outdoor events. In the summer, it goes to town, organising the International Festival of Outdoor and Street Theatres FETA, which has been a review of European and global outdoor shows for 25 years. About 25 theatres are invited to participate every year and they attract an overall audience of about 40.000. FETA is a cultural event known all over Poland – it is also recognised in the international environment of street theatres. The club also runs arts and crafts classes in its own studios, eagerly participates in partnership projects and promotes young artists.

GAK PROJEKTORNIA
It is located in Brzeźno – a seaside district of Gdańsk.
All our activities provide a special space for our participants to transform from viewers into creators. This is the most important process we have been developing. Our social projects have included Project Us! [Projekt My]! It covered workshops in imagination and relaxation, the game of Mafia, and a social archive of reportage. We organise artist residencies finalised with a joint animation project for the local community conducted by the invited artists. We run interdisciplinary projects involving people with disabilities. We highly value our cyclical theatrical project Mute Opera [Niema opera] created jointly by people who are mute, blind or suffer from intellectual disability. With film art lovers in mind, we have an annual competition for a short film on their passions Record Yourself [Nakręć się], and in September we invite everyone to outdoor film screenings. We also organise educational art and music events for schools and kindergartens.

GAK STACJA ORUNIA
It is located in Orunia – a former suburban area of Gdańsk. Our cultural centre has been operating here since the 1950s, immediately becoming the main such facility in the district. Our building is located on the grounds of the former estate of Andreas Schopenhauer, grandfather of the famous philosopher. We neighbour with a railway line (hence the name of our facility) and the historical Park Schopenhauera – we look after this heritage, organising the birthday of the famous philosopher and philosophical picnics on an annual basis. We operate with the local community in mind – organising meetings of neighbours, issuing a newspaper on the life and history of the district and using social archives in our work. We make our space available to senior local art club ZDolna Orunia and anotaher artistic and informal groups. We deeply care for social issues such as ecology, responsible fashion, community gardens and environmental protection. We promote local artists in our two galleries: Galeria Peron and Galeria na Piętrze, organising exhibitions of both professional and amateur artists. We conduct educational classes for various age groups, offering activities in the area of ceramics, stained glass, drawing and painting, as well as sports and fitness.

GAK THEATRE
The Theatre GAK is located by the Musical Scene of GAK. It comprises two theatre groups: GAK Junior for children and Talia for adults as well as a stage songs singing group. The theatre gathers together artists of various specialities – musicians, stilt walkers, dancers, visual artists, mime artists and jugglers.
Our projects combine assumptions typical for commedia dell’arte – based on improvisation and close contact with the audience, commedia erudita – using word, music and song, and elements of street theatre – stunt walking, juggling and mime. We also conduct educational activities. We look after the artistic side of many important events taking place in Gdańsk, such as the Gdańsk Christmas Tree, Gdańsk Christmas Eve, Cavalcade of the Magi, Festival of the City of Gdańsk, and the Opening and Closing Ceremony of both the Dominican and the Christmas Fairs.

 GAK WINDA
Winda is a cultural centre which has been operating in the Lower Wrzeszcz district for more than 20 years. We are also the host of the Forest Theatre, in which we organise concerts in the summer. The events in the theatre are marked by their diversity: they cover concerts of rock, classical music, jazz, blues and alternative music. Gdańsk Jazz Nights, during which we host eminent Polish and international jazz musicians, enjoys a great popularity. Our traditions also include the National Festival of Original Plays and Adaptations Windowisko. Our seat in Wrzeszcz offers a rich variety of activities for children, youth and adults. Our instructors teach how to play the guitar, ukulele, and grand piano. They also conduct singing, arts and crafts and ballet classes. We regularly organise workshops of handicrafts marking special events. We have recently opened a cinema room in our facility, in which we organise film marathons. We do not forget about our seniors, who also eagerly participate in our various activities and for whom Winda is a place of integration.

GAK WYSPA SKARBÓW
Wyspa Skarbów lies in the seaside leisure district of Gdańsk called Sobieszewo, and began its activity in 2004. We are directly connected with the history of the River Vistula’s entry point to the Baltic Sea and we refer to this heritage, looking after the Wincenty Pol Exhibition Centre of the Sobieszewska Island and the Vistula estuary. Wyspa Skarbów is also a place in which people may spend their free time creatively, relaxing and engaging in a variety of art areas. We value local creativity, and we want to support and develop it; we are also sensitive to ecological and ‘ethno’ issues. We provide opportunities to participate in social and cultural life by organising festivals (Culture in Closeness, a Kite Carnival), exhibitions, competitions (International Ex Libris and Small Graphic Forms Competition), art, museum and cooking workshops, as well as meetings, interviews and lectures.

GAK SONG AND DANCE ENSEMBLE “GDAŃSK”
Song and Dance Ensemble “Gdańsk” operates as a part of the Gdańsk Archipelago of Culture, and has been active, with short breaks, since as long as 1972. Our long history has allowed us to develop our own style and character of our shows. We present songs and dances from various regions of Poland, as well as Polish national dances. Our compositions are based on the native folklore both in terms of music and choreography. We perform in traditional regional costumes. The ensemble is composed of people of different professions and ages – lovers and enthusiasts of song, dance and Polish folklore. At the moment, the ensemble also has a children’s group. Since September 2022, the Song and Dance Ensemble Gdańsk works under the artistic supervision of the recognised, charismatic choreographer Wojciech Chylewski.