Kora’s Madonnas

fot. Jacek Poremba

Kora’s Madonnas. The first exhibition of the polish singer's unique family collection of figures. The exhibition is part of the Hipolit and Ludwika’s Festival, the feast of the Wawelberg Settlement, a historic housing estate that was created in a spirit of multiculturalism and tolerance. It was these values that Kora fought all her life.

The ambassadors of this event have been Krystyna Janda, Artur Barcis, Aleksandra Popławska, Piotr Rogucki, Muniek Staszczyk, Piotr Machalica, Magdalena Schejbal.

The Mother of God is an ancient female goddess. Grandmother, patroness, friend - said Kora, who for years painted her own Madonnas. They were a vent for her inexhaustible creative energy, then an escape from a serious illness. They went to charity auctions or as gifts to friends. Over twenty figurines remained in the family houses of Kora and Kamil Sipowicz and at the apartments of their sons. The "Kora’s Madonnas" exhibition in Warsaw's "Otwatra Kolonia" is the first show of this unique, intimate collection.

The exhibition is part of the Hipolit and Ludwika’s Festival, the festival of the historic Wawelberg Settlement - the oldest surviving residential estate in Warsaw. It will take two weeks. You will be able to see several Madonnas painted by Kora. The exhibition will be complemented by photographs of Madonnas taken by the artist's son Szymon Sipowicz, during a special summer photo op in Roztocze and also an amazing, mostly unpublished photo session of Kora in the studio, by Jacek Poremba. During the exhibition, there will also be shown a Tomasz Organek’s music video of the song "Black Madonna" directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, in which Kora played the character of Madonna.

fot. Kamila Szuba

The idea of painted Madonna was born in Mexico. In the 90s, the Maanam band visited the island of Cozumel, known for its underwater figure of the Virgin of Guadeloupe. The artist was inspired by the Mexican richness of colors, so different from sad and full of seriousness European depictions of saints. She often remembered them as a wonderful, fairy-tale kitsch.

She loved devotional articles, especially in the Polish folk edition. She fell in love with shrines, home altars, wooden churches. Madonna is also a childhood recollection - the figure of the Mother of God stood in the garden of the orphanage, where Kora spent five years.

Kamil Sipowicz bought figurines of the Mother of God in various countries. Kora covered them with colors. Each got a name: Queen of Celadon Dreams, Queen of Red Khmer or Queen of the Baltic. The names were invented by the artist's husband. - Some of them have been repainted and improved many times. My mother had inexhaustible energy, she hated inaction - says Szymon Sipowicz. When in 2013 she was diagnosed with a malignant tumor, Madonna became a respite, a way of rehabilitation, an escape. They were put up for auction, e.g. the yellow-blue Madonna, in the national colors of Ukraine, was auctioned in favour of the victims of the Maidan.

The exhibition will be open to visitors until June 8, 2019 (Kora's birthday).

Kuratorzy i pomysłodawcy wystawy: Ewa i Andrzej Chybowscy, Rafał Fudalej

Festiwal Hipolita i Ludwiki odbędzie się już po raz piąty. 26 maja na zielonym dziedzińcu zabytkowego osiedla, przy ul. Górczewskiej 15 wystąpi m.in. Stanisława Celińska. Artystce towarzyszyć będzie sześciu muzyków, zagrają piosenki z płyt „Atramentowej” i nagrodzonej w 2019 roku Fryderykiem płyty „Malinowej”. Po raz kolejny reżyserka Joanna Grabowiecka wystawi specjalnie przygotowany na święto Kolonii spektakl pt. „Kobieta Planeta”, wysłuchamy również koncertu muzyki klasycznej w wykonaniu skrzypaczki Katarzyny Bąkowskiej i muzyków towarzyszących.W programie także występy chórów: Eksperymentalnej Pracowni Muzycznej Staynia oraz prawosławnego chóru z parafii św. Stanisława Klimka na Woli. Oprócz tego m.in. wystawa bolidów autorstwa studentów Politechniki Warszawskiej, bookcrossing i zabawy dla dzieci. Na ciekawych historii osiedla czekać będzie oprowadzanie z przewodnikiem.

fot. Kamila Szuba

„Madonny Kory” 24 maja - 8 czerwca 2019 roku.
Miejsce: Otwarta Kolonia, filia Wolskiego Centrum Kultury, ul. Górczewska 15. Wstęp wolny.
Kuratorzy: Ewa i Andrzej Chybowscy, Rafał Fudalej.
Organizator: Kolonia Wawelberga Stowarzyszenie Mieszkańców i Przyjaciół, Wolskie Centrum Kultury