press after Artminerva at Tapeley

A Festival with Ghosts  (eclusier events at : http://eclusier.com/forum/)Piotr Gulbicki talks to Magdalena Rutkowska: A long day festival with a lot of attractions ending with an exclusive art auction that… Never took place because of the ghosts- said Magdalena Rutkowska- The ghosts that haunt this magnificent place marked their presence… Did the ghosts really appear? So it seems. Tapeley Park has a long and interesting history going back to the times of King Arthur. We can find here terraced lawns, unique, exotic plants and a lake. This has not been a coincidence that made us organize our event there. The owner of the place Hector Christie of Glydenbourne who invited us there was very happy to help the victims of earthquakes in this way.  According to the legend, in Tapeley there are not only the contemporary inhabitants but also the ghosts of their ancestors. And that was the day they decided to remind us of them. The day before the event a large part of the carved ceiling in the room where the auction was to take place collapsed.What a misfortune…! Yes, that was disastrous when taking into consideration how long the preparations had been taking place or the fact that the artists who donated their paintings are for example renowned Nino Spalone, Patricio Zona, Dania Zonatto or Lee Don much promoted by world famous art critic Bonito Oliva. Their works are normally not even shown on public exhibitions, or at least,  definitely not at the same time or place. However, the collapse of the ceiling did not ruin everything. For the past year now we have been running a virtual gallery, where all the donated works can be viewed and purchased.Was Tapeley  not a financial success then? On the contrary, all day long we ran a series of small events during which people could donate funds, we also had proceeds from the sale of the tickets for the event. We had many renowned guests including writers, travellers and actors, there were families with children. People danced to samba but the most exiting was a show with knights who presented short stories on the life of characters from the past of Tapeley.  Among them, was Peter Magnolia and his friends who took part in great blockbusters like “Gladiator” or “The Troy”. Instead of the auction, the gathered audience was invited to a room which Dorian Griner, a famous pianist, filled with beautiful sounds of Chopin and Rachmaninov music played on an antique grand-piano.  Hector Christie who is the son of the owner of  Glydebourne opera house was so impressed that he promised to organize more concerts like that one.This was not the first event for ArtMinerva.Art Minerva which I have run with a French artist Blandine Martin for a year now is constantly developing. We organized similar auctions in Italian Cultural Institute in London and in Abate Zanetti Glass School in Venice. The proceeds were donated for renovation of the monuments destroyed in last year’s earthquake in Abruzzo. This time the donations will also be given to the people of Hawaii.  The event in Tapeley was co-organized with Gesar foundation which focuses on helping children with educational and cultural issues.  We spoke about a couple other future projects that include my painting called “Wish fulfilling Tree” which became a symbol of international children’s anthem by George Lounidas, a Gesar activist. Copies of that painting can be seen in many places including Lambeth Palace, the seat of men’s choir in Wales, impersonating the people of Wales as good-hearted nation, and also in ministries of education in a couple of African countries. A couple of copies also can be found in Devon.I also heard that together with a famous artist Barbara Kaczmarowska Hamilton you organized a contest for a portrait of Churchill.Yes, that was indeed a true success. That is why we are planning another contest and this time it is for portraits of Fryderyk Chopin. We are also thinking of a painting exhibition that would be devoted to classical music where artists could express in their works the feelings evoked by particular pieces of music. The best works will be displayed in a prestigious place in London, yet we are still working on the details. Another project we are currently working on is The Day of the Polish Potato Pancakes. This event will take place in a pub run by Simon Clark known for defending the rights of pub owners in British parliament. Especially for that night the pub will be turned into a folk hut and everything will be made of potatoes including vodka glasses for Irish potato vodka! There will also be even images of famous people on potatoes and many other attractions. And what is most important- a lot of potato pancakes!