An intensive time of shared conversations, reflection, leaves many doors open, this is actually only the beginning of our meeting. When we gathered for the last time yesterday at Miłosz Manor, the discussion programme came full circle. The question of the ethos of the borderland, however, evoked a somewhat different horizon of imagination. Over these few days, the language of metaphors, spatial symbols, was filled with real stories. It was carried by images, sounds and, of course, words. The borderland became a field that brings together the diverse, intimate memory of home, of a journey, of a single destiny, of a community. It is about the life-giving space where everything begins, rather than the edge of the map, the place of the end forcing one to flee towards another centre. The borderland teaches us a new openness, forces one to take risks and take a flight into the unknown that crosses boundaries, builds true encounter and belonging. Dilemma, operating within this ethos, attempts to create an alternative form of communication, a common language of exchange and practice. This action confronts the hegemony of grand narratives that exploit the identity, spiritual crisis of today's Central Europe. Living in a borderland makes one constantly cross creatively, barriers, tensions, conflicts, so it helps to think about tomorrow even today, to build a living space in spite of the forces trying to destroy it.
tekst: Piotr Szroeder
fot. Staszek Czyżewski
