The Sztuka Ulicy Festival is an artistic project of nationwide and European range. It has been organized regularly since 1993 in the public space of the capital city of Warsaw. It is dedicated to performative art, mainly theater and “new circus” as well as performance art.
The mission of the Sztuka Ulicy Festival is to promote forms of artistic expression and contemporary trends in art as well as to create a practical opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences. It is an opportunity to make contacts and develop future initiatives by artists in the urban space of Warsaw. The Sztuka Ulicy Festival is the only event of this kind in Warsaw, obligatory for every theater enthusiast. The festival promotes the idea of street performance, using public space and involving the audience. It is an open-access place where the audience can meet art and where they can be educated. Taking as a starting point the need to build the image of Warsaw as a European city of culture, open to contemporary art, the organizers focus on promoting active participation in cultural activities, allowing different viewers the widest possible access to open forms of artistic life. This serves to acquire and deepen knowledge about art in the public space.
The festival is organised at the turn of June and July, when the inhabitants of Warsaw and tourists are more likely to spend time in public space. Invited street artists from Poland and Europe refer in their performances to classical literature as well as make use of contemporary texts and forms of expression. The audience can learn about various achievements of street art and new trends. They will watch performances from various genres of performing arts, supported by various performance techniques. The selected locations will make it possible to prepare presentations for several hundred or even several thousand viewers. These are places frequently visited by locals and tourists, such as the New Town Market Square, Szczęśliwicki Park, Pole Mokotowskie, and Plac Defilad.