Project history /timeline:
Michelle Levy, She is Alone, 2017, performance lecture with participation. Image: NURTUREart, Brooklyn.
​
The early life of this project began with Michelle Levy's She is alone (2017), a performance-lecture that bridged Michelle's quest into her grandmothers' past in Poland with the discovery of Paulina's testimony. "She is alone," the English translation of the Polish sama, refers to Paulina, Michelle's grandmothers, and all women whose voices and stories have been silenced or misplaced.
​
A translation of Paulina's testimony is read by a rotation of audience members, standing under the projection. Image: NURTUREart, Brooklyn.
Levy presents "She is Alone" at the home of the newly formed Festivalt in Kraków Image: Festivalt, Krakow.
Levy presents "She is alone" in Prague, the city that had sparked the onset of this research. Hosted by the Foundation and Center for Contemporary Art, Prague (Image: a local audience member reads from the testimony)
A translation of Paulina's testimony is read by a rotation of audience members, standing under the projection. Image: NURTUREart, Brooklyn.
In the fall of 2018, Levy relocates to Poland for nine months to research Paulina's text, hosted by POLIN Museum and in collaboration with Patrycja Dołowy (the artist/storyteller who originally translated Paulina's testimony for Levy) with whom she plans a performative journey following Paulina's story.
Throughout Levy's stay leading up to the journey – often in conversation/partnership with DoÅ‚owy – she presents research as it unfolds, inviting feedback from local audiences.
​
A reading and workshop on Paulina Hirsch's testimony at the Warsaw JCC
A reading and workshop on Paulina Hirsch's testimony at the Warsaw JCC
Workshopping Paulina's journey with Patrycja Dołowy and participants at Institut Teatralny (Theater Institute), Warsaw.
A reading and workshop on Paulina Hirsch's testimony at the Warsaw JCC
April - May, 2019: Levy and Dołowy embark on a journey across Poland and Ukraine, following Paulina's wartime path, engaging with local audiences along the way. See the original itinerary here.
Hitting the road, like Jewish Thelma and Louise
An action on a former Jewish cemetery (now park) in WÅ‚odawa. Image: Inytiatawa LWL
Hitting the road, like Jewish Thelma and Louise
​
​
From 2019 - 2020, Levy and Dołowy develop a multi-media performance that centers on the life-changing experience they had on the road together. (See performance section)​
Presented by POLIN Museum. Photo: Agata Grzybowska
Presented by POLIN Museum. Photo: Agata Grzybowska
Hybrid live/streaming performance by Levy and Dołowy presented by Kana Theater, directed by Kathleen Amshoff
Presented by POLIN Museum. Photo: Agata Grzybowska
The newest chapter, a hybrid non-fiction film (in production since 2022), picks up two years after Michelle's return from Poland when she finally understands what she needs to do to complete the story.
​
–––
The 2018/2019 research and engagement in Poland was developed in cooperation with POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Warsaw, with research support by the Archive and Genealogy Departments of The Emmanual Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute, Warsaw; and Festivalt, Krakow, which hosted PAULINA as its 2019 Project-in-Residence. The project has been made possible through grants from Asylum Arts, New York; the US Embassy, Warsaw, Poland; Brooklyn Arts Council fiscal sponsorship, and donations from 90+ individuals. PAULINA is currently a sponsored project of the New York Foundation for the Arts.
​
Research-and-process presentations have been hosted by
-
Asylum Arts (New York) 2018;
-
Apteka pod Orłem/ The Eagle Pharmacy, Museum of the City of Krakow 2019;
-
Craków Saltworks Museum (Wieliczka) 2019;
-
Festivalt (Kraków) 2019;
-
The Galicia Jewish Museum (Kraków) 2019;
-
Inicjatawa LWL (WÅ‚odawa) 2019;
-
Instytut Teatralny (Warsaw) 2019;
-
JCC Warsaw 2018;
-
Jewish Historical Institute (Warsaw) 2019;
-
Kana Theater (Szczecin) 2020, developed with and directed by Kathleen Amshoff;
-
La MaMa Galleria (New York) 2020, curated by Monika Fabijańska;
-
The Neighborhood and Union Docs (Brooklyn) 2022.
-
POLIN Museum (Warsaw) 2019;
-
Public Library of the City of Wieliczka (Wieliczka) 2019.
-
Residency Unlimited (Brooklyn) 2023.
​
–––
*She is alone, was presented by NURTUREart, Brooklyn in 2017; Festivalt, Krakow, 2017; and at The Center and Foundation for Contemporary Art, Prague, 2018. It's precursor, Ruins of Achelach was presented by Dixon Place, NYC (2016) and Theaterlab, NYC (2017).
​
**Parts of the Paulina story are included in Patrycja Dolowy's book Skarby/ Treasures: Seekers and Guardians of Polish Jewish History, published by Czarne Press (in Polish), 2022.
​
PAULINA is a sponsored project of the New York Foundation of the Arts.
​
Donations, which go towards production of the film, are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated.