The difficulty is to find the balance: the maximum of conformity to a rule with the maximum of freedom. Or: the maximum of constants with the greatest possible variability.
Karl Gestner, Designing Programmes, 1964
The Bęc Zmiana Foundation operates across a number of fields, including architecture, visual arts, design, and urban cultures. Our main aim is to support the development of contemporary culture and scholarly research focussing on contemporaneity, as well as recognise the potential of public/common space. Since 2002, we have been initiating interdisciplinary actions, most of which are concerned with, and presented in, the public space.
We organize exhibitions, discussion panels, conferences, and competitions. We support academic research regarding contemporary culture. We publish periodicals: „Notes na 6 tygodni” [Journal/Notebook for 6 weeks] – a richly illustrated, free magazine presenting the most interesting events and developments in the area of contemporary culture, and „Format P” – a quarterly journal dedicated to the field of humanities.
We are a publisher of books focussing on architecture and its social impact, contemporary, graphic design, visual research, and cultural economy.
Our activity would not be feasible without the income from, among other sources, our economic activities: we run a bookstore and publish and distribute books. We organize competitions for artists, architects, and designers. As part of our activities we happily cooperate with initiatives, individuals, institutions, entities, and organizations with similar goals to ours.
Cooperation
Trusting in the strength of the network, we are keen to cooperate with initiatives, individuals, institutions, entities, and organizations with similar goals to ours.
Book publishing
- We publish books that focus on contemporaneity and are innovative in approach and conceptualisation, interdisciplinary, and featuring insightful explorations
- We ask authors to please send their proposals via bec@beczmiana.pl
- We take on jobs Polski creating and designing prints. If you are interested, please email us at bogna@beczmiana.pl , with ‘Print cooperation’ in the subject line of your email.
Bookstores
- If you would like to add books printed and distributed by Bęc to you bookstore’s offer, please contact our distribution department zamowienia@beczmiana.pl
- We run bookstores (stationary and online) and distribute publications focussing on contemporary culture. We work with a number of publishers and numerous bookstores across the country. If you would like us to sell books on your behalf, please contact us at: zamowienia@beczmiana.pl
- If you are a book publisher or represent an institution that does its own in-house publishing /a university press and you would like us to also distribute your publications, please contact our distribution department: zamowienia@beczmiana.pl
Promotion, advertising, patronage
- Published since 2003, our magazine ‘Notes na 6 tygodni’ [Journal/Notebook for 6 weeks] has a circulation of 3000 copies and is distributed throughout the country. By informing about the most interesting events and developments in the area of contemporary culture, we create a network of knowledge and information exchange, thus linking the artistic and cultural environments/communities with the recipients/ participants of culture. We work with a large number of venues (institutions, galleries, NGOs, creative initiatives) across the country.
- If you would like to inform our readers about an event organized by yourself or your institution/organization, please contact us at: nn6t@beczmiana.pl
- In order to buy advertising space – we would be very grateful! – please contact us at: bogna@beczmiana.pl
Projects and partnerships
- Are you considering entrusting us with developing your project (art, architecture, public space)? Please send us a brief message at: bogna@beczmiana.pl, writing ‘Project’ in the subject line of your email.
- Would you like us to partner with you on a project you’re developing? Please email us at: bogna@beczmiana.pl, writing ‘Project’ in the subject line of your email.
Patronage and sponsorship
- Would you like to support our cultural work? Or, perhaps, back specific artistic, architectural, or design efforts? Enable actions in the public space? Help culture reach its audiences?
- Or maybe you would like to help issue publications presenting the achievements of the youngest generation of scholars researching social life? Perhaps you would like to support new research on contemporaneity?
- Let’s see what we can achieve together. First, please email Bogna Świątkowska: bogna@beczmiana.pl
Media
- For press materials, interviews and promotional information regarding our publishing work, please contact us at: bogna@beczmiana.pl
- For materials related to other projects, please contact the Foundation office directly: bogna@beczmiana.pl
Volunteering/ internships / work
- Volunteering: n/a
- Internships: If you are interested in taking up an internship at Bęc Zmiana, please send a completed form (download file) to biuro@beczmiana.pl, writing “Internship’ in the subject line of your email. PLEASE NOTE: WE ARE NOT RECRUITING AT THE MOMENT
- Work: If you are interested in working at Bęc Zmiana, please send a completed form (download file) to biuro@beczmiana.pl, writing ‘Work’ in the subject line of your email. PLEASE NOTE: WE ARE NOT RECRUITING AT THE MOMENT
Translated by Joanna Figiel