The opening of the “2024 International Design Exhibition & Marketplace, Featuring Poland, Italy and Finland”. Detroit, Michigan. November 8th, 2024. The exhibit is an example of the excellent collaboration between three entities: the Metropolitan Museum of Design Detroit (MM-O-DD), Friends of Polish Art (FPA), and the Polish Institute of Culture and Research at Orchard Lake Schools (PICROL).

In Search of Our Heroes and Time Regained (PDF)
Author: Lukasz Maciag

The story “In Search of Our Heroes and Time Regained” by Łukasz Maciąg is a reflective and imaginative narrative exploring the creative process of a writer. The protagonist, inspired by a gathering of iconic Polish Nobel laureates and literary figures like Czesław Miłosz, Olga Tokarczuk, and Wisława Szymborska, engages in a dreamlike discussion about literary inspiration and the elements of storytelling. Themes range from the essence of character creation to the exploration of genres and the intricacies of blending personal experiences with fiction.

The story unfolds as a vibrant, intellectual dialogue filled with literary references and humor, ultimately blurring the lines between reality and dreams. It concludes with a surreal twist where the protagonist wakes up, realizing the exchange was part of a dream, underscoring the mysterious and unpredictable nature of inspiration. The narrative is both an homage to literary greatness and an introspection on the challenges of writing.

In Search of Our Heroes and Time Regained (PDF)
Author: Lukasz Maciag

The Michigan Opera Theatre will be producing the opera The Passenger during its fall 2015 opera season.  The Passenger was composed by Polish born composer, Mieczyslaw Weinberg, and the libretto is based on the Polish radio play Pasażerka z kabiny 45 (Passenger from Cabin Number 45) (1959) by Auschwitz survivor and novelist Zofia Posmysz.

The Passenger is a profoundly important experience on many levels.  The opera is the representation of events at the Nazi German camp at Auschwitz, as told by a Polish prisoner and eyewitness.  The opera portrays a battle of wills between a Polish prisoner and her SS guard.  It is also the touching love story of two Polish prisoners, Marta and Tadeusz. The opera is a tapestry of Polish themes, among them: a gift of flowers, a heroic deception, underground resistance and defiance, faith and a prayer for a noble death, remembrance as a summons to a moral accounting.  And the music of Mieczyslaw Weinberg is exquisitely expressive and moving.

Members of the Friends of Polish Art have met with Dr. David DiChiera, Founder and Artistic Director of the Michigan Opera Theatre, to discuss this production.  Dr. DiChiera has asked the Polish community to raise $100,000, a portion of the production costs.

Based on these discussions, Friends of Polish Art is excited to spread the word about this opera woven with Polish themes and to encourage all of Polonia to support the production both financially and with its attendance at the performances to be held on November 14, 18, 21 and 22.    We are asking for donations toward this worthy cause.  Friends of Polish Art has pledged $10,000 in support of The Passenger.

Please consider making a donation.   We realize there are many ways by which you can spend your money, but FPA encourages you to be generous toward this very worthwhile project.

• Donor Form (PDF)
• Michigan Opera Theater