Szymon Modrzejewski, Researcher
Szymon Modrzejewski has been dedicating himself for years, as a volunteer to rescue monuments of funerary art in Poland and Ukraine. He worked at religious cemeteries that lost their caretakers as a result of 20th century deportations and massacres. Building on the Magurycz ...
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Project details
| Title: | Szymon Modrzejewski, Researcher |
|---|---|
| Entr. year: | 2011 |
| Result: | Grand Prix |
| Country: | Poland |
| Category type: | individual |
| Architect / Proj.leader: | Dedicated service by individuals or organisations |
| The Jury's citation: | "For more than 23 years, Simon Modrzejewski has worked modestly in a seemingly remote corner of Europe that suffered cruelly from the conflicts of the 20th century. He has recognised that the tombs and cemeteries of those who once lived in the regions of Bieszcady and Beskid Niski in Southeast Poland, make up a significant part of their cultural heritage, and that their restoration enables those who live there today to create a human connection with the heritage of others and of the past. He has shown by example how our cultural heritage can contribute to a better understanding of those of varying faiths and ethnic backgrounds. He has selflessly given his own time and skill, and in doing so, has engaged local people and young people in caring for this heritage, which is not only 'theirs' but is important to all of us." |
Description:
Szymon Modrzejewski has been dedicating himself for years, as a volunteer to rescue monuments of funerary art in Poland and Ukraine. He worked at religious cemeteries that lost their caretakers as a result of 20th century deportations and massacres. Building on the Magurycz association, he has organised and carried out, either on his own or with volunteers, restoration projects of many objects of funerary art (Ukrainian, Polish, Jewish or German), as well as small roadside religious architecture items, using selected conservation techniques. A number of organisations and institutions in Poland and Ukraine have benefited from his assistance and experience and have adopted his concept of volunteerbased conservation of cemeteries. Despite its local nature, the nominee's activity is undoubtedly essential to the protection of Europe's cultural heritage, of which cemeteries are part and parcel, since - as Heinrich Böll once noted in Ireland, - "The cemeteries are full of people the world could not do without." The award is meant as a token of recognition of Mr. Modrzejewski's endeavours; the nominee himself however is concerned above all with the preservation of cemeteries as silent, but eloquent witnesses of history, and keen on emphasising the cultural values they embody.
