Between 9 and 13 March2015 Liceum Plastyczne w Gronowie Górnym (Fine ArtsHigh School in Gronowo Górne) hada pleasure to host representatives of Belgium, Turkey, Slovenia, Slovakia and Romania during a workshop meeting. This event was organised with the co-funding of the European Union programme Erasmus+ and aimed at enriching experience of partnership students by meeting new people, getting familiar with culture and heritage of Poland, developing their  abilities and learning new artistic techniques.

click to: Photo Gallery - Short-term excange of pupils to Poland

We started out a bit officially with a conference in Starostwo Powiatowe (9-district governing authority headquaters), where the governor Starosta Maciej Romanowski told our guests about the region, schools, economics, nature and the unique slideways. The rest of the day was spent  in The Old Town. The participants attended a lecture in El Gallery about the history of art in Elblag and the gallery itself as well as had an exceptional possibility to see the exhibition of sculptor Waldemar Cichoń and talk to the artist about his life and creations. The exhibits collected there constitute a cross section of his 35 years of work. Later we told our guests the Legend of the Bakerboy at the Market Gate, showed the system of slideways and what Elbląg looked like in the 17th century seeing scale models in Ratusz Staromiejski. The vistit finished with sightseeing of the St Nicolas Cathedral, a walk under the arches of the Church Path and reaching the bridges and the Bulevard of King Zygmunt.

On Tuesday we went to Malbork to see the magnificent Teutonic Order Castle, which has been enlisted into UNESCO heritage. It's the biggest gothic style well-preserved castle in Europe.

Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday and Friday were the workshop days. Students took part in 4 different activities like screenprinting, 3D annimation, photography and a lecture on the history of art in Poland. During the first 2 workshops students played and worked with the project logo – they made bags with it and using 3D Max programme  they made logo animations.

In the meantime, the teachers visited the Archeology and History Museum in Elblag and saw a holographic film about  the city's past.

On Thursday we showed our guests the fabulous city of Gdańsk. For a special treat they were taken for a short trip to the Baltic Sea- some of them had seen it for the first time in their life then. Despite the cold and gusts of wind we managed to sightsee the Art Academy, Arthus Court, the Museum Of History and the Church of St Mary.

On the last workshop day participants could see the films created as a project task about artists and their work.

It was a very intensive week but at the same time providing plenty of positive emotions and satisfaction, opening new approach to other cultures, teaching tolerance and broadening the minds. Our students made new, and let's hope, long-lasting friendships as well as got the new energy to participate in the project tasks and understand it better.

We are all looking forward to another meeting in Romania, after all it's just a couple of weeks to go.