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Spectacle Square

exhibition design:
Tomasz Świetlik
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authors: Tomasz Świetlik, Kuba Snopek
curatorial team: Szymon Maliborski, Tomasz Fudala
project menager: Julia Kern-Protassewicz, Joanna Żarnecka

The exhibition is focused on plac Defilad, a centrally located public space in Warsaw, describing several decades of its functioning as well as the heated discussions about its identity and future.

The results of the work of four research teams analyzing various aspects of urban public spaces are presented. One of them was the Spectacle Square, which portrayed plac Defilad as an urban machine of the communist era brought to life for the purposes of populist spectacles of that time. The project traced the origins and development of the square's typology, based on an analysis of its many incarnations scattered across the former Eastern Bloc, ultimately recognizing its Warsaw form as the definitive one. Furthermore, the project depicted the significant influence that spectacle squares had on the history of political upheavals, evolving into sites of protests and expressions of political ambitions. The project also addressed contemporary times, noting the trend of encroaching development on spectacle squares, leading to the loss of their potential as spaces for mass political expression.

As a part of the main exhibition plac Defilad: A Step Forward, the architectural expression of the Spectacle Square focused on transparently presenting the wealth of archival materials, as well as synthesizing research findings and speculative proposals using texts, drawings, graphics, and collages.