Background

‘MY WARSAW?’ was a series of Future City Games in Warsaw on the identity of the city, the placement of culture and business within the Polish capital, and the issue of centralisation within the city. The games were part of Warsaw's preparations for the title of theEuropean Capital of Culture 2016.

The second game, entitled “MY WARSAW? – zoom in on Mokotowska Street. Scenarios for a street in Warsaw”, was held on the 7th and 8th of December at the Association for Creative Initiatives “Ę” on Mokotowska Street.

Objectives

The main purpose of the game was to bring together people who are connected to Mokotowska Street on various levels: its inhabitants, people who work there, students, and people who are simply often there for various reasons.

As an outcome, the organisers wanted to obtains some creative ideas for social and artistic initiatives connected with the street that can be implemented.

Winning idea

Moko Cafe

The idea proposes creating a mobile café for the inhabitants of Mokotowska. The café could be a place for informal meetings, but also a space where the residents could hold discussions on chosen topics. The café would by simply furnished – with chairs, lamps, tables – adapted from old furniture received from residents, shop and gallery owners. The furniture would be designed by Mokotowska residents during one of the workshops initiating the opening of the café.

Winning ideas from the other teams

Bench Cultural Centre

The purpose of this project is to draw people out of their homes and engage them in creating their local culture. This Cultural Centre would consist of benches, simple lamps and functional pieces of furniture. Benches would be placed in backyards and would create an intimate space for the inhabitants of the street. The Bench Cultural Centre would become a place where various actions connected with the life of Mokotowska Street could be discussed or initiated.

Mokotowska from my window

One element of the project is to collect old pictures of the street that are hidden in the family albums of Mokotowska Street residents, which could trigger a collection of stories about the street.

The second stage would be taking pictures of the street from residents’ windows, and of these windows from the street perspective. The pictures would create an exhibition which could be shown in different parts of Mokotowska.

Backyard Festival

Backyard festiwal is an event that integrates street residents and also attracts other Warsaw residents. The festival would take place in one of the summer months and engage Mokotowska inhabitants, as well as institutions and organisations that have their premises on Mokotowska Street.

Every backyard of the street would be open for one day and attract people with exhibitions, concerts, discussions, and workshops.