Makruty Camp

From 12–17 July 2025, our Polish local group held its first gathering in Makruty, a small remote village on the coast of Lake Sarąg. 11 young people from Ukraine, Belarus, Zimbabwe, and Burundi (aged 16 to 26) spent six days living together under simple conditions — without electricity or mobile signal, cooking on a brick stove and showering in a lake — and building the foundations for future artistic collaboration.

A big part of the experience was simply spending time together: organizing daily routines, cutting wood, preparing meals, and sharing space. This daily collaboration helped build trust and connection, especially in a setting that required a lot of flexibility and patience due to the weather and limited comfort.

Three workshops shaped the camp’s artistic side. The first, focused on drama and physical theatre, introduced tools for expression and helped the group grow closer through exercises like the mirror practice or acting out scenes. The second was a photography and cyanotype workshop that explored the idea of home and belonging, inviting participants to create their own visual pieces using objects from the space around them. The final workshop—on intuitive movement and meditation—created a moment of calm, offering time to reflect on personal boundaries and group dynamics.

Although different forms of expression were introduced, photography and drawing stood out as the most resonant for the group. This sparked early conversations about the shape of the final artistic outcome, likely to take the form of a multimedia installation focused on identity and space. With many participants bringing manual, visual, and musical skills, the creative possibilities are wide open.

Despite the challenges, the camp helped shape a sense of direction and group identity that will carry into the next steps of the program.