The House Party at Mietek Weinberg’s is an event that took place by the wall of the tenement house at 66 Żelazna Street in Warsaw – Weinberg’s family home. The project consisted of several events. It began with an exhibition of photographs by Agnieszka Stępka, who won the competition for an arts residency by the tenement, organized by our Institute. The vernissage was followed by a chamber concert on an impromptu stage in the tenement’s courtyard. Later, a piano trio consisting of Roksana Kwaśnikowska, Rafał Kwiatkowski, and Marek Bracha performed. Finally, our guests were invited to a screening of the exceptional 1936 film Fredek Beglads the World, starring, among others, Mieczysław Weinberg. The screening took place at the Czary Cinema, located at Weinberg Street.

The project was implemented with the support of the City of Warsaw.

The second edition of our House Party took place the following year, once again at the beginning of September. This time, we devoted more attention to Mieczysław’s father, Shmuel, who was also a prominent composer, known throughout Jewish Warsaw. He specialised in theatre and revue music and worked with the majority of Jewish theatres in the city. Warszawskie Combo Taneczne (The Warsaw Dance Combo) accepted our invitation to perform at Domówka, and brought back several of Shmuel’s compositions to life. The POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, which we collaborate with, provided our guests with a unique snack – “ziemniaczki po warszawsku” (“Warsaw-style potatoes”), inspired by pre-war recipes.

The Warsaw Walkabout with Weinberg was created in both paper and electronic versions and is available in three languages: Polish, English, and Yiddish. It tells the story of pre-war Warsaw, with the reader being guided by Mieczysław Weinberg and his family. The route covers locations of the former Northern Quarter as well as important destinations in Midtown Warsaw. The text of the guidebook was created by the well-known Varsavianist and city guide Agnieszka Kuś, while the graphic design was developed by Ola Jasionowska. The project’s curators were Ania Karpowicz and Maria Sławek. The Walkabout is supplemented by two original playlists compiled by Marek Bracha.

The project was implemented with the support of the City of Warsaw.

http://www.warszawawajnberga.pl/en/index.html

The “Postcard to Mietek” project involves creating custom-designed postcards that will be sent to Warsaw residents through the IMW’s collaboration with selected cafes, bookshops, and cultural institutions.

Their guests, employees, and other city residents will be asked to write a few words referring to the composer’s experience as a refugee, political prisoner, Varsovian, Jew, and Pole.

Next, a libretto for a musical piece will be written, reflecting the spirit of our time, tragically marked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the time when Warsaw became home to countless refugees seeking refuge in Poland. This piece is to bring hope and joy to the audience by referring to their memories and moments of past happiness.

The libretto will be a collective work comprised of selected “Postcards to Mietek” texts and edited by Sylwia Chutnik. Once the text has been completed, Wojciech Błażejczyk will be asked to supplement it with music.