The Polish Cultural Institute in New York made their yearly appearance representing Poland at the 92nd St. Y Street Festival. At their booth directly across from the 92nd St. Y, they handed out brochures about upcoming events, they distributed books, brochures and information promoting Poland and various aspects of Polish culture.
Established in 2000, PCI is a diplomatic mission to the United States. One of 22 such institutes around the
world, it serves under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland. The Institute is dedicated to nurturing and promoting cultural ties between the United States and Poland, both through American exposure to Poland's cultural achievements, and through exposure of Polish artists and scholars to American institutions, professional counterparts, and to currents in American culture.
In addition to their booth , PCI presented the Komeda Project at the Festival. In his short life (until his untimely death in a tragic accident in Hollywood at the age of 38), Krzysztof Komeda (1931-1969) wrote music to over 40 films, including such Polish cinematic classics as Roman Polanski’s "Knife in the Water" and Andrzej Wajda’s "Innocent Sorcerers." He is widely credited as
being one of the founding fathers of the modern jazz movement in Poland. Born and raised in Poland, founders of the Komeda Project, pianist Andrzej Winnicki and saxophonist Krzysztof Medyna have been playing together for over thirty years. They bring both a European classicism and melancholy Slavic melodism to music that's heavily refracted
through the prism of the American tradition. Before moving to the United States in the late 1980s, they spent years touring Europe with the award-winning group Breakwater. Winnicki and Medyna decided to form the all-acoustic Komeda Project in 2004.
For information on the Polish Cultural Institute's season check: www.polishculture-nyc.org.
