ZSP Dabrowa Górnicza
ZSP Dąbrowa Górnicza
Kosmonautów 8, 41-303 Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland
The school was founded in 1978 as State Secondary School of Art. After the education reform in 1999 it started to function as the Visual Arts School Complex. The school combines both comprehensive and artistic training, which is vocational training. We offer unique specialties, such as sculpture – artistic glass, painting techniques – stained glass, graphic techniques – art print techniques, graphic techniques – graphic design. It is the only school in Poland that teaches students how to make stained glass.
At present we have 10 forms ( 4 forms in a four-year-long), over 50 teachers and 200 students from our region and nearby towns and villages. Our school takes an active part in the life of the local community. It cooperates with different institutions, local media, and has a wide program of school events. In order to support students from poorer families and equip classrooms we organize the auction of students’ works of art every year. The school also organizes open-air painting workshops in Poland and abroad. The students are award winners in many art competitions in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Germany, the USA, Hungary. Our school obtained certificates of ‘Wiarygodna szkoła’ (credible school) and ‘Szkoła Odkrywców Talentów’ (the school of talent explorers). The establishment has three IT classrooms, but the lack of multimedia equipment is a problem. Another problem we have to face are students who need financial or psychological support and those who are subject to revalidation.
Location
Our school is located in the town of Dąbrowa Górnicza, in the Silesian Voivodeship. It is the southern part of Poland, characterized by strong industrialization. However, our school is located near the green and recreational part of the city.
Type of education
High school of fine arts, secondary level
The study lasts 5 years and ends with the defence of a diploma thesis in a chosen specialization.
Students in their first year get to know each workshop. After the first year they choose a specialization (sculpture – artistic glass, painting techniques – stained glass, graphic techniques – art print techniques, graphic techniques – graphic design).
School day: timetable, lessons
Classes start at 7:25 a.m. and end around 4 p.m. - depending on the timetable.
Lessons last 45 minutes.
Subjects and workshops
Students learn general subjects (e.g., Polish, mathematics, history, chemistry, English, etc.) and artistic subjects (drawing and painting, sculpture, stained glass, art history, graphic design, etc.).
Our art studios are fully equipped.
- In the drawing and painting studio, students work on easels. In the studio, there are permanent exhibitions with still lives.
- In the workshop, students learn about different types of graphics, e.g., etching, aquatint, lithographs, linocut.
- In the graphic design studio, students work on computer workstations, using various design programs.
- In the sculptural studio, students sculpt in clay, polystyrene and use various materials to make sculptures, they make plaster casts.
- We also have glass studios where students melt artistic works of glass.
- A unique studio in the school is the stained-glass studio, where exceptional and beautiful works of art are created.
Description of school classrooms, labs and other facilities
- Several classrooms for general preparatory subjects, each of them designed by our students.
- Four painting & drawing workshops equipped with easels. One workshop for each
specialization - stained glass, glass, design, graphic arts, of course all of them fully equipped as well as photo studio, sculpture workshop, calligraphy studio and so-called IT workshop.
- We also have a gym, library, lockers for students and a school gallery, unfortunately we don't have a school canteen.
Activities (special celebrations/ activities & usual activities, for example at breaks)
Each classroom can work simultaneously and comfortably with about 10 students. In some of them, e.g.
In the sculpture studio and drawing studio, groups often have about 15 students
Every year on the last Saturday of November or the 1st of December we prepare School Day with an auction of our students' works.
Also, in November we have two weeks lasting professional training for the pupils of older years.
As a part of cultural development, we organize trips, going out to the theater, to the movie theater and to the exhibitions.
We cooperate with Academies of Fine Arts in Katowice, Kraków and Wrocław with different sorts of activities that vary every year.
Few times a year we have "Movie night" in our school which means a night watching several movies unified with a general theme or idea.
And most favourable to the students is 10 days plein-air painting held in some beautiful region of Poland or abroad.
