Soil and Friends — Public Program | Meetings, Screenings, Discussions

About the event

The public program of the "Soil and Friends" project delves into themes present in the works of artists featured in the exhibition. Drawing on the knowledge and experience of female farmers, biologists, social researchers, philosophers, and even soil organisms themselves, we will examine soil, attempting to move beyond an anthropocentric perspective. Together with the program's guests, we will reflect on our relationship with the land in contemporary agriculture and ask how to care for soil in the Anthropocene. During nature workshops, we will discover the diversity of soil inhabitants. We will also discuss the politics of earthworms and methods of interspecies communication. All events are free of charge. Meetings are held in Polish. https://u-jazdowski.pl/projekty/wystawy/gleba-i-przyjaciele 🎬 25/09/2025, 18:00 Cinema at Ujazdowski Castle film screening and discussion Agroecology — on relationships with the land in peasant agriculture What was or is peasant agriculture today? What caused the way we cultivate the land to radically change in recent decades? Who owns farmland and its yields in the corporate food system? Where can the average farmer in Poland be found in all this? During the discussion, we will talk about economic inequalities in contemporary agriculture, the pains of the food system, and solutions proposed by agroecology—a growing social movement that sees land as a common good. Participants: - Dr. Ruta Śpiewak, rural sociologist from the Institute of Rural and Agricultural Development, Polish Academy of Sciences - Klaudia Kryńska, gardener and agroecology promoter associated with the Agro-Perma-Lab Foundation - Hubert Filipiak, organic orchardist, runs the family farm Ekojabłonka in the Tarczyn municipality Moderation: Anna Jakubowska, coordinator of the European Agricultural Policy program at the Heinrich Böll Foundation. Event organized in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation. 🧪 04/10/2025, 12:00 Educational Room on the ground floor of Ujazdowski Castle workshops First date with a centipede Registration required. Please send applications to: [email protected] Limited number of places. One quarter of all living organisms are connected to soil, yet we know little about them. The lecture and workshops on soil biodiversity will allow us to meet our chthonic friends—from bacteria, protists, fungi, nematodes, to springtails, mites, millipedes, and earthworms. During the workshops, we will examine soil samples from Warsaw's allotment gardens, Vistula meadows, and the compost heap in Ujazdowski Park. We will study their structure, pH, and humus content. We will take a close look, literally and figuratively, at the meso- and macrofauna of the soil. Host: Dr. Joanna Sucholas, biologist, ethnobotanist, and educator, runs an agroecological farm in Greater Poland. The workshops are designed for adults, but all lovers of soil life are welcome, regardless of age. Event organized in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation. 🪱 07/10/2025, 18:00 Studio on the ground floor of Ujazdowski Castle discussion How does an earthworm think? Soil organisms in gardening practice, biology, and posthumanist philosophy How do we think about soil and the micro- and macroorganisms that build it, with whom we share our living space? Can we understand an earthworm or a mole cricket? What do we know about their ways of communicating and their sensory abilities? How do soil invertebrates experience the world? During the meeting, we will talk about our interspecies relationships. We will ask how to move beyond an anthropocentric perspective, consider the interests of soil inhabitants, and resolve disputes over shared space between humans and non-humans. Guests: - Prof. Paulina Kramarz, biologist, entomologist, lecturer at Jagiellonian University, associated with the Science for Nature initiative - Wioletta Olejarczyk, agroecological farmer and head of the European Agricultural Policy program at the Heinrich Böll Foundation - Dr. Justyna Schollenberger, cultural studies scholar and philosopher researching relations between the human and the non-human. Associated with the Institute of Polish Culture at the University of Warsaw Moderation: Anna Jakubowska, agriculture analyst at the Green Economy Institute Event organized in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation. 🌱 16/10/2025, 18:00 Cinema at Ujazdowski Castle film screening and discussion Olives and sesame. How to survive genocide in Gaza? Can growing eggplants be a form of resistance? Can preserving traditional seed varieties or gathering herbs be one? During the meeting, we will talk about agricultural culture and the relationship of Palestinians with the land—both lost and the one that still produces food and is a place of life. We will discuss strategies of resistance and survival of Palestinians. The discussion will be preceded by a screening of the film "Foragers," dir. Jumana Manna, 2022 (65 min). Guests: - Emil Al-Khawaldeh, organizer of protests, cultural events, and solidarity actions supporting Palestine. His family had an orange orchard in a Palestinian village, which they had to leave during the Nakba in 1948 - Patrycja Król, PhD student in sociology at Jagiellonian University, human rights observer and volunteer of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Israel and Palestine, studies peaceful forms of resistance of Palestinians in the West Bank - Dr. Maria Wodzińska, PhD in humanities, lecturer at the Faculty of "Artes Liberales" at the University of Warsaw. In her doctoral work, she studied how nature can be included in reflections on violence and death, describing, among other things, genocide in the Gaza Strip. Moderation: Katarzyna Makarowicz, graduate of philosophy and Indology at MISH UW. Associated with the editorial team of Salam Lab. 🧑‍🔬 23/10/2025, 18:00 Studio on the ground floor of Ujazdowski Castle Towards a science of caring for (soil) life in the Anthropocene Lecture by Prof. Anna Krzywoszyńska Our relationship with soil reflects how we perceive the world and our place in it. Moving beyond an anthropocentric understanding of soil is now a necessity in a landscape dominated by industrial, monocultural agriculture, which leads to the collapse of basic planetary processes needed for the life of all organisms. What role should science play in this process of changing thinking and action? What kinds of science do our suffering soils require, even demand? What kinds of knowledge do we need to survive the Anthropocene? The lecture by environmental anthropologist Prof. Anna Krzywoszyńska will focus on seeking new approaches to soil science that will allow us to build better relationships with the non-humans who co-create our world. We will look at the politics of science and environmental relations in the thought of Bruno Latour, Isabelle Stengers, and Hannah Arendt. We will ask how to care for soil life and practice mindfulness with an awareness of the scale of destruction of these multi-species ecosystems. Anna Krzywoszyńska is an associate professor at the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Oulu in Finland. She is an interdisciplinary social researcher specializing in human-environment relations, drawing from the humanities as well as soil science, agroecology, agricultural and environmental knowledge. Her work focuses on the role of science and other types of knowledge in shaping human-environment relations, especially soil; knowledge and environmental management systems co-created by science and society, and the role of local food systems. Her research is part of the more-than-human anthropology and Anthropocene studies. Event organized in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation.