Author: Katarzyna Halicka

Gdansk Photojournalist. We invite you to a workshop with Piotr Połoczański

Posted on by Katarzyna Halicka

If you don’t know yet, there is an
Olivia Photography Club in the Olivia
 Centre. Photo sessions, webinars, workshops and all kinds of artistic challenges are the club’s offer for everyone who would like to explore the secrets of photography with Olivia. Last year, members of the club were the authors and co-organizers of as many as 5 exhibitions presented in the lobby of Olivia Star. They used the knowledge gained during workshops with experts to amaze the effect of their creative work – places, events, and people captured in the frames. Together with them, we invited residents and residents of the Tri-City to the exhibitions “Gdańsk Unobvious”, “Good Tony: Meet Olivia’s Choir”, “Sea You” (reportage photography), “Olive in Olivia” (landscape photography), “12 Shades of Olivia” (architecture photography).

 

Together with the Club, we would like to invite you to a photography workshop with Piotr Połoczański: Gdańsk Photojournalist. The number of places is limited, the event is ticketed.

 

15.11 | 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. | Krypton in O4 Coworking

 

Buy a ticket

 

 

Day 1
(I’ll see you in the Krypton room in Olivia Four, so it’s going to be intimate and relaxed, and at the same time a lot of specifics and solid knowledge)

How to be a good photojournalist? What do you need to know, do, have? Advice, hints, tips, anecdotes.

A story about the art of photojournalism and the work of a photojournalist in the press office of the Mayor of Gdańsk.

Photojournalism techniques, necessary equipment, everyday life.

  • Presentation of photos and anecdotes from the Tri-City reporter scene.
  • Photographic equipment. A photojournalist’s must-have.
  • Lenses and accessories.
  • Clothing, harnesses.
  • Extras in the form of electronics for fast shipment of material.
  • Photo editing – an overview of the basics.

 

Day 2
(date, place, time to be agreed with Piotr Połoczański)

  • Working together with workshop participants
  • Fieldwork during the event [do ustalenia wydarzenie]
  • Simulation of cooperation with the editorial office [forma rozrywkowa]

Evaluation of works: after individual contact with the teacher.

 

 

Piotr Połoczański

A photographer associated with Gdańsk, whose heyday he has been documenting in his work for over 20 years, focusing on Nowy Port – the district where he has lived since birth. His photo archive is a kind of “sociological record” of the urban fabric. The main forms of Piotr Połoczański’s work are portraiture and reportage, and the dominant theme is the life of the inhabitants of his beloved city. What is characteristic of Piotr Połoczański’s photography is the combination of trust of the photographed persons and the artist’s discretion, manifested in the form of reportage that dominates his works. One of the effects of his work is a series of suggestive portraits of the inhabitants of Gdańsk, which he has been carrying out for years.

Since 2002 he has been a member of the Gdańsk Photographic Society. In 2012, he won an award in the “Gdańsk Press Photo” competition in the Culture category. The documentary nature of the author’s long-term work was summed up during his first exhibition in 2013 at the Centre for Contemporary Art “Łaźnia II” entitled “2.28 km2”. From 2013 to 2019, he was the Photographer of the Mayor of Gdańsk – Paweł Adamowicz. In the years 2020-2021, he was the Photographer of the Mayor of Gdańsk Aleksandra Dulkiewicz. He cooperates with the Pomeranian Marshal’s Office. The result of the Photographer’s cooperation with the authorities of the City of Gdańsk is a pandemic calendar depicting the Gdańsk Heroes of that time, in which the portrayed people were immortalized by the artist.

 

 

Buy a ticket

 

 

 

 

We tied the ribbon together!

Posted on by Katarzyna Halicka

We would like to thank you that despite the unfavorable weather, over 130 people took part in the Pink Ribbon Run, which we have been supporting for the third year. All this is part of the ‘ First Ones Win‘ campaign, the brainchild of which is Energa’s volunteers from the ORLEN Group. There was a theory of breast examination and practice on special phantoms – guidelines were given by Dr. Wojciech Smyk from the Breast Disease Clinic of the University of Silesia. There were balloons and anti-stress. There were also sweet treats, hot coffee and a souvenir photo.

 

The launch of the campaign took place on Monday 16 October, just after the European Day Against Breast Cancer, which fell the day before. Despite the strong wind and low temperature, the turnout was good. Nearly 150 people showed up at the appointed time on the patio of the Olivia Centre to show their support for women and men suffering from breast cancer. Among the participants were representatives of many companies residing in Olivia. What makes us happy is that there were many gentlemen at the start. Their share is gradually growing every year, which means that they are more and more aware of the fact that the problem related to the incidence of breast cancer also affects men.

 

Before the march, children from the White Kitten Non-Public Kindergarten were introduced to the idea of a pink ribbon initiated by Evelyn H. Lauder, one of the leading figures in the Estee Lauder Consortium, who herself struggled with breast cancer.

 

Buds, phantoms and butterfly wings

 

The motto of this year’s campaign was “Tie a ribbon with us”, i.e. walk with us on a route whose shape resembles the symbolic pink ribbon that accompanies Pinktober all over the world.

 

It all started punctually at. 12:00 p.m. from a short speech and a commemorative photo. Afterwards, participants with pink balloons marched along Olivia’s buildings. At the front of the march, apart from the organizers of the action, walked Lucyna Prądzyńska, struggling with breast cancer, who for the third time actively supported the whole project, telling her story of the disease and encouraging people to undergo preventive examinations.

 

In addition to the march, the participants eagerly approached the tent where employees of the University Clinical Centre, the Pink Butterfly Association and the Association of Future Midwives GUMED taught breast self-examination on several phantoms. It was also possible to seek medical advice and receive a leaflet with instructions on how to get tested and what to do if the disease is suspected. Crowning this educational process with a photo against the background of butterfly wings with the slogan “I’m healthy. I’m examining my breasts.”

 

The most “pink” participants of the march were awarded. They received unusual BREASTSsoaps, the purchase of which supports the @dotykamwygrywam foundation.

 

There was no sweet treat, as well as coffee, to which our Resident, Santander Bank Polska, invited us to the Work Cafe in Olivia

.

 

The pink ribbon symbol also lit up the façade of Olivia Star on October 16.

 

Strong support

 

The initiators of the action are volunteers from Energa SA –
Magdalena Pakmur, Natalia Cebula, Ewa Opiela
and
Kamila Dymowska.

 

From the very beginning, the project has been substantively supported by the Pink Butterfly Association and the Breast Disease Center at the University Clinical Center, whose representatives actively participated in the entire project.

 

The media patrons of the action were
Radio Gdańsk
 and
Tricity pl
. The campaign was financially supported by the
ORLEN Foundation
.

 

Fig. Maciej Roszkowski,
welovefoto.pl

 

The winners of the fourth edition of the Oliwa Neighbourhood Budget announced

Posted on by Katarzyna Halicka

Tai Chi classes for people with neurological diseases, ecological education, crochet workshops for children, submitted by a 7th grade student, and puppet-making classes have been awarded funding under the Oliwa Neighborhood Budget 2023.

 

The Oliwa Neighbourhood Budget has become a permanent fixture in the schedule of social initiatives in one of the oldest districts of Gdańsk. At the same time, it is the only permanent project in Pomerania to support local communities by the private sector in the form of a neighbourhood budget. The fourth edition of the OBS has just been resolved, in which applications were submitted by a total of 11 institutions and individuals.

 

This year, the jury, consisting of Andrzej Stelmasiewicz – Gdańsk councillor, Małgorzata Skwira – headmaster of Primary School No. 35 in Oliwa, Tomasz Strug – chairman of the Oliwa District Council and Grzegorz Kidybiński – member of the board of Olivia Centre, selected 4 projects that received funding for their implementation.

 

The biggest stir was caused by the project of crochet workshops , submitted by Alicja from Oliwa , a student of the 7th grade of Primary School No. 23. Interestingly, this is not the first project submitted by such a young person. Alicja also ran in the Gdańsk Civic Budget; She submitted the preparation of an ecological mural. The girl shows entrepreneurship on a daily basis, successfully selling her own crochet products.

 

I really like crochet and I have been making hats, socks and mascots with this method for about a year – says Alicja Jankowska, a 7th grade student at Primary School No. 23 in Oliwa. – It’s an incredible satisfaction for me to see the joy that my work brings to the people I prepare it for. Crocheting allows me to spend time creatively, relaxes, develops manual skills and gives me a lot of joy, so I want to share my passion with others.

 

Other beneficiaries included the Association for People with Parkinson’s Disease and Degenerative Brain Diseases ParkOn, which prepared a series of Tai Chi classes for people with disabilities. As Aleksandra Węgorzewska emphasized, the aim of the project is to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities and people with motor coordination problems. The classes (as many as 2o 60-minute classes) are to be conducted in Oliwa, but also broadcast online. The project will be implemented for 8 months.

 

Ecological workshops in Oliwa and Przymorze Mały will be prepared by the
RC Foundation
. As Patrycja Surowiec, the project coordinator, declares, there are still too few “grassroot” actions to reduce the amount of waste and awareness of our choices at the consumer level. Some of our daily choices are also about the decisions our children make. The gadgets we buy are packaged in multiple layers of plastic, drinks are sold in cans and plastic bottles, and attractive but shoddy toys break or get boring after a few uses. In our series of workshops, we want to give children and young people a sense of agency by educating them about both the globally understood environment and their immediate surroundings. In our project, small steps for the environment form a logical whole, thanks to which we feel the sense of pro-ecological behavior. This is extremely important not only for the implementation of this knowledge and the durability of habits, but also for the sense of influence on reality and the value of acting in a group. The project will be implemented for 4 months and will include 10 workshops, and will be attended by children and young people from local schools.

 

The fourth project to receive funding is a puppet-making workshop, submitted by Małgorzata Martusewicz, a resident of Oliwa. During a series of workshops, lasting until May 2024, participants in groups: child – parent, children in groups of 15 people, as well as children working in pairs will learn the art of puppet making, and the entire project will end with a mini-theatre performance. The workshops will allow for the implementation of a number of functions: intergenerational connection, integration of children under the care of the Home for Children. Janusz Korczak – care and educational facility in Oliwa and children aged 8-12 who will work in pairs.

 

This year, we have extended the possibility of implementing projects also to Przymorze Małe, a district of Gdańsk adjacent to Oliwa. The daily life and creativity of our applicants knows no administrative boundaries. We are glad that Olivia can have a positive impact on her immediate surroundings and we encourage other companies to join the project – says Bogusław Wieczorek, Plenipotentiary of the Management Board of Olivia Centre.

 

The Oliwa Neighbourhood Budget is an initiative to support projects that are important to the residents of the district. Since 2019, residents, educational institutions and public benefit organizations have been submitting their initiatives to develop Oliwa, the district where the Olivia Centre is located. The budget was established on the initiative of the largest business centre in Poland, but its budget also includes Andrzej Stelmasiewicz , a Gdańsk councillor and local cultural animator. Previous editions of the neighbourhood budget have made it possible to co-finance projects with a total value of over PLN 65 thousand.

 

Fig. Karol Kacperski, Prestige Magazine

Starts! Olivia’s Football League, season 2023/2024!

Posted on by Katarzyna Halicka

 

Football lovers can already get ready to cheer!
The 2023/2024 season is starting!

 

In a moment, the first matches of the Olivia Football League will be played. This time, as many as 11 teams will compete. Among the daredevils who will fight for fame, records and victory will be the following teams:

  • Epam Systems,
  • Energa’s Indestructible Dream Team,
  • Arrow Services,
  • Omida Logistics,
  • Olivia Centre,
  • Just Join IT,
  • Pitch Wizards (Telus International)
  • Speednet,
  • Thyssenkrupp Group Services Gdansk,
  • Santander Bank Polska,
  • Capgemini.

 

As you can see, we have four new teams: Speednet, Thyssenkrupp Group Services Gdańsk, Santander Bank Polska, Capgemini. We keep our fingers crossed for everyone!

 

Let’s recall how the previous season of the league ended. 140 players from 7 teams competed for the Olivia Cup, 46 matches were played, in which 408 goals were scored. The fight was fierce until the final whistle. In the competition for the third place in the League, the players of Arrow and Omidy competed. In the end, the Arrow players defeated their opponents 4:2, winning the bronze medals! The grand finale belonged to Energi and Epam. Last season’s champions, Dream Team Indestructibles Energa, this time allowed themselves to be defeated by the brave team of Epam Systems (4:2).

 

Arrow scored the most goals in a regular season (75). The record for goals in a single game belongs to Omida – 15. Only one draw was recorded in the entire competition.

 

All matches are conducted by a team of referees selected by the Pomeranian Football Association.

 

Here’s the podium

1st place: Epam Systems

2nd place: Dream Team Indestructibles Energa

3rd Place: Arrow Services

 

They were followed by:

Omida Group

Olivia Centre

Just Join IT

Pitch Wizards (Telus)

 

What will it be like now? See! There will certainly be no shortage of emotions!