10th – 30th June, Belfast Photo Festival, Belfast City Hall Lawn, Open All Day

13th June – Artists’ Talk, Studio 1G1

15th-16th June – Workshops, The Grainger Room, Ulster Museum, Belfast

Check out this nostalgic and thought provoking exhibition of photos showing people photographed together with white bear mascots, collected together by Barbara Caillot & Aleksandra Karkowska. You can also come and meet the artists on the 13th June or participate in a workshop on the 15th June (details below)

As an antidote and provocation, during such uncertain times … perhaps we all need a teddy bear to hug?

Why are people in Poland so keen to take photos with a white bear? What is so mythical, magical and universal about it that everyone has their picture taken with it? Barbara Caillot and Aleksandra Karkowska have often wondered.

Intrigued, they set off on the trail of the bear.  Intrigued, they followed the bear’s trail. Maybe today, in these uncertain times, we need a teddy bear with an arm around us? Not dangerous, but a powerful and strong animal master that you can hug and pet.

To explore this phenomenon, Caillot and Karkowska wanted to obtain as many photographs as possible and made a request to the public to collect their photos. They made an appeal on social media, in the press, on the radio and TV. They searched for its traces in libraries and archives. 

The authors received over 1500 pictures from all over Poland, and the oldest photographs are 100 years old. They were obtained from the descendants of furriers, who were the first to make costumes from sheep skins in Zakopane. 

It is possible to recognise the era of the photographs by the costumes and poses of the people, and even by the bear costume itself, which differs in the length of its fur, the shape of its head or ears which evolved over decades. Back in the day, a photographer was taking the pictures, and they were developed overnight and collected the day after. 

These men disguised in sheep skin have also been seen in Germany, Switzerland, and Norway.

Maybe some of you have even spotted them in Northern Ireland too? 

The white bear pulls you away from the greyness of everyday life, takes you to the world of fairy tales, to the world of our imagination. The white bear connects all worlds, breaks down boundaries and social barriers. 

‘Our Streets are full of White Bears’ project received the Honorary Partnership of the City of Zakopane and was under the patronage of the Tatra Museum. Dr. Tytus Chałubiński. 

Official Website Link to the Exhibition: Belfast Photo Festival

_____________________________________________________________

Thurs 13th June | 7:00pm

ARTIST TALK: Aleksandra Karkowska & Barbara Caillot

Join Polish artists Barbara Caillot and Aleksandra Karkowska for an introduction and insight into their fascinating project of the legendary White Bear of Zakopane, exploring how thousands of pictures of White Bears have become a symbol of Polish popular culture over the past 100 years.

Cost: Free Ticketed (max 25 participants), Registration Necessary

Link to register: https://www.belfastphotofestival.com/artist-talk-karkowska-caillot

_____________________________________________________________

Sat 15th June | 11:00am – 12:00pm & 12:00pm – 1:00pm (2 Workshops)

Sun 16th June | 2:00pm – 3:00pm & 3:00pm – 4:00pm (2 Workshops)

Family Workshops: PHOTO with a White Bear!

We invite children and their families to meet the White Teddy Bear, a Polish legend celebrated for more than 100 years. Join artists Aleksandra Karkowska & Barbara Caillot, in this fun, creative story-telling and collage workshop, as they open up the mythical world of the White Teddy Bear.

During the workshops, the artists will answer many questions, such as where it came from in Poland, why it is white if there are brown bears living in the Tatra Mountains (Polish mountains), whether the teddy bear liked to travel, how much the teddy bear costume weighs, whether it is hard work and what kind of teddy bear is “real”. We will also look at photos of a white teddy bear from years ago. Together with the participants, we will consider how these archival photographs differ from contemporary ones.

The workshops consist of two parts:

1) Theoretical part – lasts about 20 minutes, during which we tell children interesting facts about the white teddy bear from Zakopane; in this story we are supported by quotes and photographs from the book “PHOTO with a White Bear”;

2) Art part – lasts about 25-40 minutes, during which children make art works and collages from archival photographs.

During the workshops, children will receive photocopies of archival photos with a white teddy bear from the archives of Oficyna Wydawnicza Oryginały. Each child makes a collage from copies of photographs, colours the photos, and can decorate the work with ribbons, lace, fabric, artificial fur, etc. Join us!

The workshops are intended for children (ideally 6-11 years old) and their parents/ guardians.

Duration of classes 50 minutes (max 25 participants per workshop)

Cost: FREE ENTRY / reservation required

Book a FREE Workshop: https://www.belfastphotofestival.com/ulster-museum-workshop

_____________________________________________________________
Artists’ Bios:

Barbara Caillot and Aleksandra Karkowska have written several books together, created a publishing house and created cultural events. Their brave diligence, inquisitive curiosity and particular sensitivity are not tied to a specific place on the geographical, ethnographic or cultural map of Poland.

They have dealt with metropolitan Warsaw, the highland Podtatrze region, Sopot – a seaside resort – and people travelling on the legendary ship “Batory”.

For all their differences, their publications have a strong common denominator. It is the memory of things first, simple, deeply personal. An emotional memory ascribed to a specific person, as fleeting and fragile as any single existence. This memory is tenderly cared for by Barbara and Alexandra. They find it, write it down, build a story from it, which, thanks to the book, and exhibition can last and give us. They mother this existence, endowing it with yet another life. A beautiful and important practice.