About Stn:ort

Team STN:ORT

We are an international team of volunteers. We share a passion for unique places, inclusive storytelling, cultural creativity and innovation.

Some of us live in the surroundings of Sztynort, Węgorzewo, Giżycko, and others in Warsaw, Poznan, Gdańsk. Further supporters of the initiative live in Berlin, Dresden, Southwest Germany. We also have a volunteer base in the UK, around Manchester and London.

Among us, you’ll find experts for museums, archives, and tourism. We have former carers, seamstresses, drivers, chefs. We have Ambassadors, Musicians, and other creative practitioners in our team. Our team for STN:ORT 2019 also includes teachers, managers, philosophers, and politicians. And very crucial are also the students and local youth who volunteer for the project.

The Idea

The walls of a palace are not only made of bricks and mortar. They are also made from the networks of people, from stories, memories, imaginaries, and visions. A palace is made of encounters and interactions between materials and living beings. To bring it to life means to bring people together, tell stories, and to appropriate spaces with its built and natural environment – and with all senses.

Our answer to the current situation of Sztynort Palace: We won’t wait until the walls of the Palace are plastered!

We are starting now to values its beauty and learn from its history. We are celebrating under its roof already and create positive energy. The Palace of today becomes a source for our inspiration! This is what STN:ORT Pałac Festiwal is about.

The History

STN:ORT took place for the first time in August 2017. It arose from a suitcase of scraps of fabric from Manchester Day Parade. And it evolved from the idea of transforming  the place through creative encounters. The founder is Hannah Wadle, Anthropologist, Cultural Activist, Artist. Since 2010 she researches the Palace community as an academic. In May 2017 she opened the exhibition „Chronicler of our Dreams. The Palace of Sztynort 1947-2017“. In August 2017, she put on a silver sequin jacket and invited visitors of the place to create dream catchers together. The outcome was the art installation  „Dream catchers for an awakening Palace”. Since then, an innovative cultural initiative is evolving. Its aims are:

  • telling the palace history from different angles
  • stimulating conversation through creative and critical art intervention
  • building a new transnational cultural heritage community with shared experiences
  • produce innovative cultural events and formats that raise timely issues and can travel further

In year one, Stn:ort was produced by Hannah Wadle (FairerTales) and supported by the Technical University Dresden. In 2018, the festival week was almost entirely run by donations and volunteers. .This year, we are working together with Lehndorffgesellschaft Steinort e.V. and Organizacja Tratwa and received funding from Fundacja Współpracy Polsko-Niemiecka / Stiftung für deutsch-polnische Zusammenarbeit.

Our Supporters

Our Partners

Team STN:ORT 2019

  • Barbara Zamek-Maińska, Artistic Director: Kinderliederabend; Soprano
  • Barbara Lipińska, Translations
  • Bettina Bouresh, Production, Organisation, Communication, Visuals
  • Christa David-Wadle, Processes, Proofreading, Reception, Tours
  • Dawid Dacko, Expert Tours, Visual Documentation
  • Halina Kołos, Volunteer Coordination; Theatre
  • Hannah Wadle, Festival Direction and Artistic Direction
  • Jakob Maiński, Artistic Direction and Production Management of Sztynort 1935; Theatre Cast
  • Jurek Dacko, Technical Assistant
  • Katja Hock, Expert Tours, Reception, Children’s Programme
  • Krystyna Jarosz, Cooperation Muzeum Kultury Ludowej/ Węgorzęwo
  • Marcin Białous, Volunteer Coordination, PR, Visuals
  • Piotr Wagner, Technical Executive, Head of Local Communication
  • Verus von Plotho, Production, Organisation, Yoga
  • Wiktoria Dacko, Reception, Children’s Programme, Tours