Leszek Szuster, Director of the International Youth Meeting Center in Oświęcim, talked about artistic projects created by Mrs. Ewa Guziak and realised with children who are hard of hearing and who have visual impairment.
After a visit to Auschwitz, visitors often say that “the confrontation with such a tragic place leads to some helplessness in expressing emotions and understanding something that goes beyond any comprehension.” Leszek Szuster explained that they try to collaborate with artists, “believing that through their sensitivity, through the media with which they operate, they are able to express something that goes beyond expression.” In 1989, 30 years ago, Mrs. Ewa Guziak, a special needs pedagogist, came up with the idea to employ art as a vehicle of confrontation with history. The first project implemented was a seminar with young participants from Poland and Germany who were deaf and hard of hearing. Because sign language is not an international language, Polish and German interpreters needed a day and a half to find joint sign constructions to make understanding and translation of the exhibition possible. Journalists were invited for the opening of the exhibition, which was the presentation of artistic works created during an eight-day seminar. “The opening exhibition lasted three hours because the children decided that they would like to talk about their works. They all wanted to talk about their emotions, their sentiments. It was all translated into sign language.” The children were really proud to be able to present their work.