Human Mosaic 2018
Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018
Without going into many details, the story goes like this: a Client, well known Slovenian and international non-governmental institution in the field of art and creative industries is a partner in an European cultural project. Their usual Photographer recently switched career path and kindly recommended me to fill his place photographing the aforementioned cultural project - that is, documenting a Festival in Poland. Checking my calendar, I realised that I’m photographing a Festival in my home town the same week - the Festival I’ve been working with for few years now - so I politely declined the offer.
But, researching the proposed job a bit deeper that night, I found out that this theatre and performance festival in Poland was described as "celebration of creativity for ten days in year" in the "town in the middle of the woods" which just sounded too good to be missed. Although I felt partly bad for letting down my old client, I felt excited to go somewhere completely unknown, meet new people and discover new opportunities. And also to photograph theatre, which is something I would like to do much more in the future.
Human Mosaic festival was taking place in a cosy town of Goleniów, Poland (which actually reminded me on a town Garešnica in Croatia where I was growing up when I was a kid, though Goleniów is a bit bigger). I wasn’t there for the whole Festival, but the four days I was photographing there were filled with cool performances and other events. And they were all pretty packed - seems like the cultural scene there is quite strong. The people behind Teatr Brama are doing great job there, educating and involving so many of the young people (some performing, some working at the festival), which was a joy to witness - one can only wish to have that kind of opportunity when growing up!
Festivals are always about meeting fine new people and enjoying great performances and this one was no different - was both a pleasure and a privilege to be there. I do, however, have to give a special shout-out to two (both Polish!) of my favourite performances of those I’ve managed to see at the Festival - mind you, didn’t see many of them. Beautifully simple yet simply beautiful "Zwierciadło / Mirror" by Teatr Kingdom of Curvy Fork and Benjamin Gula, and "blow my mind although I don’t speak Polish" "Panic report" by amazing Arti Grabowski - both of them I hope to see also in Slovenia ;) And not to forget, the amazing Wood & Brass Band that practiced under my window the first morning performing "Seven Nation Army" by White Stripes and making me most welcome there :)
All in all - a great week in Goleniów! To get a bit of a feeling how was it there, I’m publishing few selected photographs, check out Teatr Brama Facebook page if interested in more ;)
“Extracted” by Grupa Teatralna Ujście @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
“Extracted” by Grupa Teatralna Ujście @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
“Extracted” by Grupa Teatralna Ujście @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
Audience waiting for entrance @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
“Ghost Dance” by Teatr Brama @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
“Ghost Dance” by Teatr Brama @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
“Ghost Dance” by Teatr Brama @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
Human Mosaic 2018 @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
“Life of Saint Catherine of Alexandria” @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
“Life of Saint Catherine of Alexandria” @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
Sing along “All You Need is Love” @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
Wood & Brass Band @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
Wood & Brass Band @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
Wood & Brass Band @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
Wood & Brass Band @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
Wood & Brass Band @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
Wood & Brass Band @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
"Freedom" by Touchstone Theater, Jarosław Gang and MONAR @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
"Freedom" by Touchstone Theater, Jarosław Gang and MONAR @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
"Freedom" by Touchstone Theater, Jarosław Gang and MONAR @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
Mosaic Evening: Italy @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
Human Mosaic 2018 @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
“Why and how to care about LGBT people in the workplace?” discussion @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
“Refugees in media, refugees in reality” discussion @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
Mural in the making by Niall Dooley @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
Mural in the making by Niall Dooley @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
Portrait of an artist Niall Dooley @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
“Tango” by Studio 7 @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
“Tango” by Studio 7 @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
“Tango” by Studio 7 @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
“Tango” by Studio 7 @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
“Panic report” by Arti Grabowski @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
“Panic report” by Arti Grabowski @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
“Panic report” by Arti Grabowski @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
“Get to know Goleniów with Nastia” by Teatr Brama @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
Human Mosaic 2018 @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
“Zwierciadło/Mirror” by Teatr Kingdom of Curvy Fork and Benjamin Gula @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
“Zwierciadło/Mirror” by Teatr Kingdom of Curvy Fork and Benjamin Gula @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
“Zwierciadło/Mirror” by Teatr Kingdom of Curvy Fork and Benjamin Gula @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
“Beauty of the Grey” by [sa’wa] @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
“Beauty of the Grey” by [sa’wa] @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
“Beauty of the Grey” by [sa’wa] @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
Dedication of the mural “Words Break Walls” @ Human Mosaic festival, Goleniów (Poland), 29/08 > 01/09/2018 Photo: © Saša Huzjak
PS: Quick tip for fellow photographers for packing when flying: always pack all the gear you need for work in a carry on bag (the that goes with you on the airplane) - not just cameras, lenses and laptop, but also chargers, batteries and all other stuff you can’t work without or would be hard or time consuming to replace on the location. If there’s some more place in that bag, pack some underwear, socks or other clothes. I had everything I needed in my brilliant Lowepro ProTactic 450 AW backpack which was used just for traveling - on location, I used my usual photo bag (already quite beaten, but still standing!), amazing Think Tank Retrospective 30 Shoulder Bag which is actually great for travelling since it can be "downsized", so to say :) You wouldn’t won’t to check-in your gear in the first place (one horror story is all you need) but extra stuff is something that one could forget and just pack in the check-in bag. And why is that so important? Well, check-in bags can get lost or just delayed. And that is exactly what happened to me, luckily, on a way home and luckily already the day after my landing my bag was delivered to me. But if that happened on a way to the Festival and if I had some of the gear I needed there, that wouldn’t be so nice…
Used gear (for photo geeks):
For more info, visit:
- Wood & Brass Band: www.wabband.com
- Human Mosaic festival: www.teatrbrama.org/english-menu/festivals/human-mosaic
Must not be used without explicit permission.
If you would like to license any of my photographs to use either online or offline, order a fine art print of your favorite photograph or hire me to shoot your band or event please contact me.