Jerzy Jastrzębski - The Region as a real and imagined place

In the age of increasing mobility, migration and deterritorialization, regionalism as a cultural and social phenomenon seems to be an anachronism. Meanwhile, the region remains a place saturated with meanings and emotions, existing not only on maps, but also in the consciousness of people who, by identifying with it, define their identity. Thus they manifest their attachment to the local natural and cultural landscape, attachment to the local way of life, to a real or imagined heritage. Regionalism is, therefore, an ideology that is firmly grounded in the basic needs of a human being who longs for an environment that he/she understands and accepts, and in which he/she is understood and accepted. In order to survive, we must not only change ourselves and our place, but also look for fixed points of reference on physical maps and in imagined spaces. And thus the region still remains a place which is real and at the same time utopian, woven from our dreams and longings.