Graffiti on the Market Square
Last Wednesday the 21st, a 12 metre long fragment of wall was erected in the centre of the Wroclaw Market Square. Artists and passers-by were invited to take part in decorating the wall with graffiti, slogans, and art, recalling the anti-establishment graffiti of the late communist era.
The wall, along with an exhibition by photographer Dariusz Wilka, will be on display on the Market Square until mid-November 2009.
This exhibition is part of the Independent Culture Year marking twenty years since the fall of communism in Poland in 1989. Wroclaw has a rich history of counter-culture, particularly in the communist era when the Orange Alternative movement promoted an artistic and surrealist approach to protesting the ruling government. Graffiti, performance art, happenings, and marches in absurd costumes (a dwarf outfit was most popular) were all major aspects of the Orange Alternative movement. Leaflets were distributed as well, with such absurd slogans as "Citizen, help the militia, beat-up yourself".
Visit The Dwarf statue, a symbol of the Orange Alternative, at the corner of Swidnicka and Kazimierza Wielkiego streets.