This year, the theme of the Art Moves Festival was “Involvement and responsibility. Can each of us co-create a better world?”. We invited internationally renowned artists, young authors, and international audience to a common reflection on what really matters and gives meaning to our life.

442 artists from 61 countries entered the competition, we received almost 800 artworks from Ukraine, USA, China, Taiwan, Philippines, Russia, Cuba, Great Britain, Iran and many others! The international jury selected 10 most interesting projects which were exhibited on billboards located on Pl. Rapackiego in Toruń. The jury decided to confer the main award to Alessandro Di Sessa from Italy.

The works of renowned artists participating in the festival were presented on city lights and LED displays located in different parts of Toruń.

Here you can find a movie from this year’s edition of the festival:

We would like to thank all the artists who took part in the festival, the participants in the competition, and all those who contributed to the organisation of this year’s edition of the festival. We would like to express our gratitude for support: Toruń Municipality and the Local Authorities of Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region, our partners: AMS SA and MZK w Toruniu, and media sponsorship: TV Toruń, Polskie Radio Pik, TVP3 Bydgoszcz, Arteon, marketingprzykawie.pl, kampaniespołeczne.pl, SpodKopca.pl, Magazyn Toronto. We would also like to thank our wonderful audience for their active participation in the festival. We hope to see you again next year!

 

The International Art on Billboards Festival Art Moves is organised in Toruń for the tenth time. This year the event is held under the slogan of “Involvement and responsibility. Can each of us co-create a better world?” Like every year, during the festival, we show the works of talented debutants and renowned international artists in the city space of Toruń. The festival will held to 10th October.

Over the past few years,billboard art has become a cultural “must have”. Billboard exhibitions are being held from Teheran and Mexico City to Paris, Los Angeles and New York. Toruń is one of the pioneers of this trend – Art Moves is the first, and so far the only, cyclical festival promoting this kind of art in the world. “Billboards are unequivocally associated with advertisingall over the world, but not in Toruń – for a few autumn weeks the billboards become anti-billboards, as a manifestation of thought contesting consumerism as well as any forms of intellectual and spiritual submissiveness. England has its conscience-pricking Banksy, and we – thethought-provoking Art Moves festival” – Piotr Sarzyński wrote about the festival in “Polityka” magazine. – Now we work with those ubiquitous, open or hidden advertisements and propaganda –Rafał Góralski from Rusz Gallery, co-creator of the festival, says. Billboard art is like an antidote, a respite and time for reflection in this crazy hurried world. Billboards have a wide coverage, reaching everyone, being pro-democratic and egalitarian, going beyond the life andinformation niches people operate in. They change the city into a large art gallery where art can be usedfree of charge, 24 hours a day / 7 days a week, with no limits or barriers.

The first editions of the festival aroused astonishment; now this event has zealous fans who are looking forward to seeing the festival works. During 10 editions of the festival we have presented over 250 artistic works on billboards, mega-billboards, mobile billboards, citylights, and LED displays. Nearly 5 thousand artists have taken part in the annual competition for best billboard work, sending in about 9 thousand works!

– The festival has 3 levels of influence – Joanna Górska from Rusz Gallery, co-creator of the festival, says – we make up a theme and direct it to artists from all over the world, who respond to our question and create their own works. The best of the works are presented in the city space of Toruń. And people, inspired by these works, can find their own ideas for a festival theme. So, we combine what is global with what is local.

This year works relate to the leitmotiv of the entire event: “Involvement and responsibility. Can each of us co-create a better world?”, and will be presented on billboards, citylights and LED displays. This competition slogan can be treated as a metaphor of all the processes taking place in the world today. Are we responsible for the shape of the world we live in? Are we ready to get involved and take responsibility for our lives and the life of the communities we live in? Or maybe we prefer to put this responsibility into the hands of other people – politicians, governments, the media, corporations? Or should we do something by ourselves? Maybe it would be better if each of us took responsibility for “our” own piece of the world, no matter where we live, what we do, and what our social status is? If every day many of us do something small, yet conscious and sensible, will it have any influence on the world we live in?

 As always, the festival consists of a competition phase and then a presentation of the artists invited by the organisers. The best works are presented on billboards. 442 artists from 61 countries entered the competition, we received almost 800 artworks from Ukraine, USA, China, Taiwan, Philippines, Russia, Cuba, Great Britain, Iran and many others!

 The jury panel composed of artists and curators, including: Christine Wong Yap (artist / New York, USA), Mark Titchner (artist / London, Great Britain), Małgorzata Augustyniak (art historian, vice-president AMS SA / Warsaw, Poland), Rafał Góralski (artist, curator, Art Moves Festival director / Toruń, Poland) selected 10 most interesting projects which are exhibited on billboards during the Art Moves Festival 2017. The jury decided to confer the main award to Alessandro Di Sessa from Italy.

On the occasion of the jubilee, the organisers have prepared a retrospective of works by the most influential artists who have taken part in the festival over the last ten years, those works that are consistent with this year’s edition. So we able to see a relaunch of works by Mark Titchner from Great Britain, Marcos Ramirez ERRE from Mexico and Christine Wong Yap from the USA. The inhabitants of Toruń also have the opportunity to see works by Sean Hart from France,and by Cheryl Pope and WRDSMTH from the USA for the first time. Works by the hosts themselves, i.e. Rusz Gallery, is also presented. These works will be displayed on citylights, at bus stops, on LED displays, and at various placesaround the city.

Not only do artists come to grips with the festival slogan. As part of the Art Moves Workshop, billboard workshops for middle school teenagers and the performance entitled „HERO” were held. There are also special interactive billboards that allow recipients to take an active part in the festival.

 

In this edition of the festival, we exhibit the works by 21 artists from 10 countries:

Alessandro Di Sessa / Italy

TinaZakierska / Poland

Valeria Moskovchenko / Ukraine

Agnieszka Popek-Banach, Kamil Banach / Poland

Wojciech Janicki / Poland

Mabi Lusala / Czech Republic

Oleksandra Yakovleva / Ukraine

Maria Papagianni / Greece

Ying Hsiu Chen, Hsiang Ying Chen / Taiwan

Łukasz Mesjasz / Poland

Maja Wąż / Poland

Mark Titchner / Great Britain

Marcos Ramirez ERRE / Mexico

Christine Wong Yap / USA

Cheryl Pope / USA

Sean Hart / France

WRDSMTH / USA

Joanna Górska, Rafał Góralski (Galeria Rusz) / Poland

 

Art Moves Festival is held under the honorary patronage of Piotr Całbecki, Marshal of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region and Michał Zaleski, President of Toruń

The festival has been co-funded by the Local Authorities of Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region and Toruń Municipality

Partners and media sponsorship: