Here is your last weekend of July sorted: Poles at ActOne – make sure you are there! The community cinema in Acton, West London and Talking and Exploring have teamed up to invite the Polish community and anyone interested in learning what some Polish people are up to!

We have arranged a whole line-up of events, and the only fee is £2 for a ticket to Small Time Obsession followed by a Q&A with the director, Piotr Szkopiak, courtesy of the ActOne Cinema, once Passmore Edwards Old Acton Library! The cinema is air-conditioned and has the most comfortable seats with lots of leg space! There is a café too and lovely community space!

The programme of events follows. They are all free with the exception of the film, which is £2 plus a voluntary donation to help fund a second screen for the cinema.

To sign up for the film, please click here: Small Time Obsession followed by a Q&A . You also need to sign up for the free walk sponsored by the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation commencing on Saturday, July the 31st. For other events, just turn up and enjoy!

What we have prepared for the 2-day celebration of London’s Polish community and culture and a commemoration of the WW2 Warsaw Uprising:

Exhibitions:

Joanna Ciechanowska: Tales of the Underground

Drawings on a mobile phone. Colours of the images linked to the colours of the London Tube lines.”The idea started a long time ago, after a visit to New York. I encountered New York graffiti-covered trains and started to draw people in the metro. Then, London Transport Advertising commissioned an illustration. Now, I draw people on the underground trains on my mobile, imagining what they think or do. It is more private than iPad or paper drawing, as people imagine I am just texting. ”

Oskar OK Krajewski

Oskar is the founder of the Art-Recyclism platform for Artists and people who actively care for our Planet. He will exhibit one of his sculptures. He is currently working on his biggest to date sculpture called “Metropolis” which is aimed to be “transferred” to a Metaverse, accessible and playable online.

Luke Ratz

London-based artist interested in transhumanism, neuroscience and artificial intelligence.

SATURDAY 30/07

13:00: A benevolent employer and a local artist: Another free OPDC walk

A tour of the Wesley Estate area of Old Park Royal, including a visit to the local artists Sue Groom and Rudi Wallenda, by Joanna Dudzinska. Free registration through Eventbrite here.

18:30: George Szlachetko – Acton son talks about his Polish mother’s experiences in the Polish resistance in Warsaw in WW2 and the Warsaw Uprising

In tribute to long-time Acton resident Danuta Szlachetko, who recently departed, her son George Szlachetko will be talking about Danuta’s experiences growing up in German-occupied Warsaw during WW2, her participation in the Polish resistance and the brave but tragic Warsaw Uprising of 1944, and how Danuta coped in her new life as a political refugee in England. The talk will be based on George’s book about his mother’s life, Wira of Warsaw – Memoirs of a Girl Soldier.

19:30 Meet the artist Oskar OK Krajewski

Meet Oskar and learn what drives him to make such sophisticated creations using discarded electronic objects.

20:00: Instrumental live music by Konnect Studios

Konnect Studios is a multi-disciplinary music production and recording studio that focuses on audio, visuals and artist development. Based in Excelsior Studios in the trendy Park Royal Design District, the trio offer a diverse range of highly skilled creative services as well as their own music.

SUNDAY 31/07

11:00: Wojtek the War Bear!

Wojciech Filaber, the author of the book War Bear, will speak about the role of animals taking part in the war. His book tells the story of Wojtek, the soldier bear who participated in the Battle of Monte Cassino and did his best to help soldiers with loading heavy boxes with ammunition into trucks.

12:00: Konnect Studios Present

Another mix of music and video making, this time for a younger audience

14:30: K. K. Baczynski: Poet of the Warsaw Uprising

A discussion with Anthony Smith and Tomek, and Anna Mickiewicz, translators of KKB poems, about K.K. Baczynski, the young poet tragically killed in the first days of the uprising. With live poetry reading. A poem about K.K.Baczynski by a retired doctor and Vietnam War veteran will be read along with the translation by Renata Bilska.

We are commemorating the tragic Warsaw Uprising that broke out on the 1st of August 1944, cost lots of lives, and resulted in the almost complete destruction of Warsaw.

15:30 Film screening: SMALL TIME OBSESSION + Director Q&A

A story of love, crime and betrayal set among a group of young Anglo-Polish friends living in South London. The film will be followed by a live Q&A with the director Piotr Szkopiak. Tickets £2. Suggested donation of £7 to support the local cinema.

18:00 Oskar OK Krajewski talks about his art of recycling.

Another opportunity to meet and talk to the maker of the intriguing sculpture exhibited at the weekend.

Spend the whole weekend with us or choose the event(s) that interest you!

We look forward to meeting you!

Portal British Poles is a media patron of the event.

WHERE: ActOne Cinema & Café, High Street, London W3 6NA

WHEN: Sat, 30 Jul 2022, 18:30 – Sun, 31 Jul 2022, 20:00 BST

TICKETS: Free entry.