After the bid: How Bielsko-Biała can sustain the spirit of Weaving Wellbeing
After the bid: How Bielsko-Biała can sustain the spirit of Weaving Wellbeing
We asked three experts: Chris Baldwin, Beatriz Garcia, and Pierre Sauvageot, what they learned about Bielsko-Biała through the city’s bid for European Capital of Culture 2029 and how we can continue the legacy of the bidbook "Weaving Wellbeing”.
Chris Baldwin is known widely for citizen-centred dramaturgy - approaches to making large scale performances designed for a place, about that place and made in deep collaboration with the people of that place. He specialises in directing large-scale events for live audiences, often created as hybrid performances for television broadcast and streaming (Artistic Director for the Opening Weekend for 2023 Eleusis, big events for Kaunas 2022, Creative Director of Galway 2020, Curator of Interdisciplinary Performance for Wrocław 2016, Cultural Coordinator for Piran4Istria2025). He also runs ‘cultural clinics’ – helping cities or regions develop their cultural programmes for large-scale initiatives such as European or national cultural capital projects.
What did you learn about BB from the bidding process?
I had reconfirmed the belief that we can come together and achieve great things. The city came together for this bid - people, organisations and institutions talked to each other in a way that made this a very special process. Innovative artistic projects were imagined, and cultural policy was extended into new and contemporary areas. The bid encapsulated lots of new thinking about, for example, audiences not just as consumers of art and popular, easily digestible events, but as co-creators. That working with international partners can be so much more than through city twinning initiatives. All the work we did together has not been lost and should not be abandoned.
On a professional level I learned a lot more about contemporary Polish art practices, the place of modernism throughout the Polish 20th century, about Polish artists such as Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, Magdalena Abrakanowicz and Bielsko-Biała's very own Joanna Chudy. And I had the whole world of the architecture of health opened to me by the work and passion of Ewa Trzcionka at Fundacja Zielone Konie in BB. But this list could be extended to so many other professionals in Bielsko-Biała. Ada Piekarska reminded me about the importance of knowing why we work in the arts in the first place, its role in bringing urgent yet sometimes complex issues to our attention. Her work and that of the Galeria Bielska BWA is of national, international significance. I saw brilliant work at the Polski Teatr too under the directorship of Witold Mazurkiewicz.
But I think I learned most from those people committed to celebrating the umbilical link between people and the natural environment. In a month when we learn that we have wiped out 75% of our world wildlife since 1970 a project which places our and the planet's future WELLBEING at the centre of the public discourse is not a polite additional extra dimension. I met lots of young people, adults and grandparents in BB who are simply horrified at the future we all face unless we address the unfolding environmental catastrophe. A good deal of Weaving Wellbeing bidbook projects recognise both the value and vulnerability of BB's magical mountains, the rivers, those who work through the permaculture initiatives. All this has been a great learning experience for me. So my question to BB is, has the importance of these projects lessened for BB simply because we became Polish Capital of Culture 2026 rather than European Capital of Culture 2028?
And one more sentence about this. There was a time when people in BB walked past the Pedanteria laundry, unaware of its grim truth. Today, we have more information than ever, but can we recognise what is true and how we are being manipulated? Can we spot how AI or hidden interests are influencing our choices at elections? I learned that BB takes these questions seriously.
You know many cities that did not get a title. Statistically, most of the cities are losing. Do you have any good examples to share about the cities who lost but still managed to develop their programme and objectives?
Yes. And, by the way, Bielsko-Biała will be the Polish Capital of Culture in 2026 which it won as a result of its success in getting to the finals of the European Capital of Culture competition. This is a huge win and a fantastic opportunity to implement the four flagship projects described in the bid book. I am sure that BB will wish to cherish what it achieved in the bid-book and move forward rapidly to implementation - even in a scaled-down form. Leeds in the UK are doing extraordinary work despite not being an ECoC but rather a UK City of Culture. Dublin did not win the 2020 ECoC Irish bid (it went to Galway) but they have done lots of great work since then. And most famously perhaps is Lublin! They lost to Wroclaw2016 but implemented a plan B and look what happened to them! They won last month as a result of building upon their previous bid work and not returning to life-as-normal.
Lastely, the Urban Culture Institute - City of Weaves team met with dozens of other European cities to discuss future cultural collaborations at the Culture Next network meeting in Cluj, România. All the cities in this network have won ECoC bids, lost ECoC bids or are preparing ECoC bids. There are no losers in that network, but only cities passionate about contemporary cultural practices and the impact it has upon our communities, citizens and artists. A loser city is one which replaces its bid book slogan with the slogan "The Future is History". I don't think BB wants to abandon its belief that our common wellbeing is a cultural project of the utmost importance.
What would be your advice for our city and all communities that got involved in the process after not getting the title? What can we do to not lose the enthusiasm and energy to act?
I would suggest a mix between strategy and celebration. BB got very close to winning the title. Yes, BB will have less money to invest. But city creativity and political leadership are equally transformational. I would advise the city to take stock, look at why BB almost won the title "European Capital of Culture", take the four flagship projects plus a few non-flagships and celebrate their potential and excellence over the life span they were given in the bid-book. Plus, they should be guaranteed their legacy period. That is what a European city would be proud to do - to keep its promises. BB did not win because it was a poor second, but because someone had to win, and it was Lublin this time. It was their second attempt. As I said above, Lublin did not abandon their ambitions and vision of losing last time. They implemented a vision which led to a different outcome this time around.
Beatriz Garcia an official researcher of a ECoC programme, a specialist in strategic overview, former member of the European Capital of Culture Selection and Monitoring Panel, and an expert on cultural policy, mega-events and communication. She has researched the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) initiative since 2002 and has documented the experience of every individual ECoC host since the initiative’s launch in 1985. Her research has focused on studying the symbolic regeneration potential and long-term cultural legacies of hosting an ECoC, as well as its economic, physical and social impacts. Had directed many main European Capital of Culture projects since 2002.
What did you learn about BB from the bidding process?
Certainly the first thing that you learn is Bielsko is a very entrepreneurial city. In terms of the capacity for the city to get together to respond to the vision that you explored within the bidbook, you focus on the notion of weaving well-being, obviously as the city of weaves. And that clearly came in a very solid manner, especially during the final phases of bidding. What is fascinating is to see how this seems to connect to the DNA of the city so that it goes beyond a proposal for a European Capital of Culture title and, in fact, transmits a sense of identity and a way of doing things.
How would you describe why Bielsko-Biała was a special candidate or a unique city?
Obviously you have that trajectory and that fascinating heritage with all the textile industries and all the new things that keep happening. What I could see is that you grab the opportunity to respond to that. That challenge on that question that comes from Europe, about what is it that you can share with the rest of the continent and the rest of the world that other people can learn about. So I felt that was particularly illuminating, how you grabbed and tried to respond to the notion of well-being, which is a term that is now being used very much as a strategic goal and gets mixed with objectives regarding health. But I think well-being has other nuances that we need to populate a bit further and that have to do with not just resolving things once they are broken, but actually how you lead a good life and how you ensure that you have those foundations so that precisely you don't develop health issues. So I thought it was very beautiful, and inspiring, how you debated the notion of well-being, and tried to do it as transversal as possible and linking those three concepts. The awareness of the surroundings. That brings a lot of potential for a future conversation. That made you unique, special. It's a topic that is relevant to everyone.
Nowadays, we face so many challenges you mentioned, well-being, mental health. Why should we focus and invest in culture?
Well, culture is a big term and a big word, and it encompasses many things. But the ultimate value is that it’s investing in your capacity to have imagination. In your capacity to question things, obviously linking with artists that can provoke you and make you grow. So what the cultural sector and what cultural actors can do is so relevant for cities and their economic future. And certainly notions around being social engagements, the environment more generally. What you can do through the cultural angle is precisely that, connect to who we are as human beings, which at heart is what makes it worth the living.
The capacity for joy. The happiness of celebration, the memories’ narratives. Ultimately, I said that before, the imaginative aspects and the capacity to ask questions. Not just to focus on the results, but on the journey. For that, you need culture, artists and creative minds.
You know a lot of cities that haven't won a title. Statistically, most cities lose out. Do you have a good example to share of a city that lost out but still managed to develop its programme and objectives?
Well, this is something that has become a big thing. Especially over the last 10–15 years. The process of bidding should already be something that leads you. Rright now we are talking in Cluj, with the Culture Next network. And this network is an example of a city that loses its candidature to become European Capital of Culture, and uses the energy and the inspiration. In fact, one of the projects that were proposed within the bid, to create a network that becomes a really powerful platform for conversations across Europe. Cluj is one of these key examples of a city that lost a bid and is now a key reference across Europe on how you develop interactions and a really fruitful basis for conversations between cities.
Many other cities are also managing that transition post-bidding, in part thanks to the fact of having one key criteria within the bidding process. That is how your project links to the cultural strategy of your city and your long term vision. The cities that work well in that particular area tend to have a greater capacity to adapt. Faro from Portugal has also been very active, and they continue to develop many of the projects. There have been a lot of the initiatives. Now, with Poland, you also have the Polish City of Culture Initiative. This has been tested already in Portugal. Braga is another great example of a city that went on developing and implementing projects. In the context of the UK, we have another example. It is not that they lost the European Capital of Culture title, but they were not allowed to present it in the very last minute because of the Brexit vote. You have Leeds that went ahead developing a fantastic year of culture.
The element that tends to be in common with those cities that go ahead is that they continue, they challenge to think in international terms and to respond to this very tricky question: what is a European Dimension. It got them to relate and to revisit their aspirations differently. They could see that it was of value to the city to do it. Many of those cities became very strong players in ways that are even more successful than the winning cities. This happens in some cases because you have time on your hands. When you don't have the pressures on the calendar that the European Capital of Culture forces on you. And as you have already worked on the bidbook, you have a very clear project in your hands, and especially when it's good enough to have reached the shortlist stage. At times, it can be beneficial to be able to do it on your own terms, having the time to really think which are the most doable aspects and how you prioritise it. It might take you longer to cover all aspects, but it's not impossible to meet most of them.
So, yes, we have plenty of good examples from Portugal, from Romania, from the UK. And the number is growing. Part of the reason why this happens is because you are getting cities to talk to each other much more, including the candidate cities. So a key factor to ensure that that transition is possible even if you don't secure the title is not operating in isolation. Realising that there are many other cities that also have gone through that process and what really matters is to keep counting on each other and to realise that the bid is not a false exercise, and should not be operating in a bubble. A bid for European Capital of Culture should be the result of a real wish, a real need for your city. And if you manage it through consultation, through involving your population, through having really honest conversations with your corporate sector, with your politicians, if that really has been done well and people have developed trust in each other, then you realise you can do it, regardless of what it says officially. The hardest bit is to agree to work together, to trust each other, and to get a common project that you can all believe in.
What would be your advice for our city and all communities that got involved in the process after not getting the title? What can we do to not lose the enthusiasm and energy to act?
It's good not to lose the momentum, it’s good to rest, and to also have a moment to gain perspective and to make changes and revise in terms of funding. What kind of finding is still on the table? One of the priorities is to keep talking to those different partners. What is the budget that you can rely on? What are the aspects that can still be protected? Which ones might develop in a slightly different way, and then think how you can adapt the programme. What is essential is to try not to lose the core concept and the core vision. If the vision is something you believe in, it’s very important to protect it.
Continue to inform the strategy for your city because one of the aspects that certainly should not be lost at all is the strategic direction and the commitment to documenting, to assessing to be able to interrogate the impact of your actions. Certainly that is something that any city should do. When you agree to bidding, you are raising the stakes in terms of framing and having a better understanding of how you operate with culture. So obviously it has to continue going ahead. The things that might change is how many activities are there? How many new projects you can put together? I think it's very valuable to at least choose one or two that you deliver within those following years.
When you have got your community so enthusiastic, it would be a shame not to do anything with it. So I believe in your case, you are hosting a few conferences, you are reflecting on the notion of health and well-being, and you're doing it on a European setting. So that's already a great sign, it sends a very good sign to all the other international partners.
In terms of all the programmes within your city: How do you keep working with the volunteers? What are the roles that you can offer to these people that have decided to engage and support your proposal? Working with young people, any of the initiatives you had with the schools and young people, how do you maintain that? Especially those that do not rely on big budgets. What they rely on is people's will. It is the critical mass of people that trust. So the most important thing is not to lose the trust. For that, maybe you need to set up another conversation in the same way as you had all your consultation, talking together.
I think it's a combination, on one hand: international initiatives that you can still go ahead with, and put together and on the other, locally reconnecting with your communities to say which are the things that really we cannot do without. Even if it takes longer, we have some examples of cities that have managed to develop and grow, and put in motion the programme over 10 — 15 years. And also don't forget that your mindset has been changed. You have learned to think in European terms, to codify and realise that culture is not a separate area but a transversal asset for your city. Once you learn that, you should never forget it. Not you, nor your key stakeholders, nor your leaders.
Pierre Sauvageot - art director and composer, Pierre Sauvageot has made public space the text, context and pretext for his work. Since the 1980s, he has continued his singular writing as a composer for the public space, with many creations, including the recent Grand Ensemble, a dialogue between a building and a symphony orchestra. Pierre Sauvageot was appointed in 2001 as Director of Lieux publics, a European centre and a national centre for creation in public spaces located at the Cité des arts de la rue in the northern districts of Marseille.
He also created the European network IN SITU in 2003, a European platform for artistic creation in public spaces that has supported more than 200 European artists to date. From 2019 to 2021, Pierre Sauvageot was a member of the jury of the European Capital of Culture (ECOC).
What did you learn about BB during the tender process?
Bielsko-Biała seemed to me to be a hidden city, almost an island. There's a French proverb that says ‘pour vivre heureux, vivons cachés’ (‘to live happily, let's live hidden’). A town that makes a lot of mention of the mountains and the forest, but which remains focused on itself. Perhaps this bid to dare to be a ‘Capital’ will be a way of finding a new place in Poland or on the European map.
You know a lot of cities that haven't won a title. Statistically, most cities lose out. Do you have a good example to share of a city that lost out but still managed to develop its programme and objectives?
The most common example is Cluj, which focused on the European dimension by becoming the ‘leader of the losing cities’, but also the centre of the informal network of candidate cities. There is also the example of Sankt Polten in Austria, which implemented almost the entire bid programme.
What advice would you give to our city and to all the communities that got involved in the process after losing the title? What can we do to ensure that we don't lose the enthusiasm and energy to take action?
The only way to keep the energy and the collective is to move forward with the creation of something that is radically new, both in content and form, that mixes disciplines around a few fundamental ideas, that gets away from the festival/exhibition/season formats, a cultural utopia in a rather worrying period. Not trying to keep bits and pieces of the bidbook, but keeping the spirit of it (easier said than done, I admit).
editing: M Potempa
