A monetary grant, awarded by Hanna Podolska, Coordinator, Cultural Affairs, Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Barcelona, Spain, ES, on the occasion of Agnes Janich's performative installation, Lighting the Night, held at Can Serrat International Art Center, ES.
Lighting the Night is a collaborative performance bringing the experience of mass shootings to present day and imagining the death of one's loved ones. A simple gesture of writing the names of one's loved ones on bits of paper and burning them in a candle later flowing down the river to the sea, it serves as a reminder of the fragility of peace. Originally performed at Auschwitz-Brikenau, a site on the banks of the Sola River where Auschwitz prisoners were shot in the back of the head, their bodies sent flowing to the sea, Lighting the Night was hailed by modern day Auschwitz (Oświęcim) inhabitants as "bringing good Energy to the world" and "making Auschwitz a better place to live".