Rejwach in Lodz. How Artists Took Over the Historic Factory.

So, the time comes for a first article about street art events in Lodz. Let’s start with Ravekjaviik, the electronic music festival which took place last Saturday (15.06). As part of the festival, a street art exhibition was held, in which almost 50 artists were involved. The exhibition was curated by Maciej Walczak.

Every festival edition takes place in old, no longer working factories. Well, it sounds awesome to me! It’s a great occasion to explore abandoned places in a totally legal way.

Rejwach vol. 3: An exhibition about sensitivity in rough frames

Perhaps let’s start with what this ‚rejwach’ actually means. The word “rejwach’ itself comes from Yiddish and means noise, caused by loud conversations. The interesting thing is that the cultural heritage of Lodz itself is strongly connected with Jewish culture, so isn’t it nice that these days, the name of the exhibition refers to the local history.

So, does it mean that the exhibition tells us about the Jews in Lodz? Nothing could be further from the truth! The origin of the word is not important here. What matters is its meaning.

As the curator himself – Maciej Walczak – says about the exhibition:

Rejwach is a bustle of individuality. The main idea of the exhibition from the aesthetic point of view is to show the sensitivity of diverse artists in a rough industrial setting.^source

We can see this diversity in the selection of the artists themselves (photographers, graffiti artists, painters, graphic artists), the styles of the works (graffiti, murals, installations, posters, photography), as well as in the topics covered.

Besides the exhibition itself, notice its location. It is an accessible space for everyone! No tickets, no restrictions. Galleries are OK, but let’s be honest – the art that is accessible to a wider crowd has a much greater impact. Isn’t it what matters?

I also see another advantage. Adapting spaces that have been unused for years into a space full of valuable art, is something extraordinary. Who knows, maybe one of the factories in Lodz will change to something similar to Teufelsberg in Berlin?

Okay, that’s enough of this talk! Below I share with you the works that impressed me the most (or I just took good picture of it)

Do you want see more photos from Rejwach? Check out my instagram.

The exhibition was curated by Maciek Walczak.

Involved in the exhibition were: LOTY Crew, Zbigniew Olszyna, Artur Chrzanowski, Egon Fietke, Paweł Ponichtera, Gu-Tang Clan, Martyn Gill, Irena Zieniewicz, Paulina Brzezińska, Alicja Bodzioch, Paulina Kwietniewska, Karolina Vem Chojnacka, Hakobo, Kuba Szkudlarek, Wagner Arts, Adam Lipman, Zadek, Kacper Zaorski-Sikora, HERA, Soumne, Nibme, Damian Cihu, Paulina Górniak, Kacper Ogień, Damian Idzikowski, Jonasz Koperkiewicz, Stanisław Murzyn Łuczak, Jagoda Malinowska, Amelia Maros, Magda Miszczak, Natalia Nowacka, Michał Franciszek Pawłowski, Jan Jubaal Wasiński, Slow Painting Studio, SNAT, Wojtek Stachura, Ida Stańczyk, Maciej Walczak, Dominika Pawełczyk, Kwadrat w Mieście, Martyna Łuszczyńska, Piotr Podsiadły, H.E.R.O.D, Piotr Ciesielski, MUSK, CHRO, ATOS, Katarzyna Jakoby, Monika Gałaj, Oskar Gorzkiewicz, IGUA, Anna Wywiał.

See you next year!

Karolajn