When wandering along the Motlawa River, leaving the old city and walking towards the contemporary art centre Laznia in lower town, you will bump into an unusual sight. A long truck is stuck under a bridge. It looks like someone took a chance to drive the truck fast to make it out on the other side, but failed badly since the bridge is too low.

The truck is part of the Outdoor gallery of CCA Laznia. Laznia itself works in a former bathhouse which was transformed into a vibrant art scene in Gdansk. Lex Rijkers and Daniel Milohnic are the creators of Auto Art.  The active pedagogical department of Laznia runs workshops inside the truck and also outdoor in the area. You can see traces of the project on the pavement, other pedestrian areas, on small houses and fences in the neighborhood.  Artists run workshops in different forms and media, like visual art, theatre, sound, music, dance and street games. People are invited to take part of creation and the place evokes hope of that anything can happen here in this run-down area.

Dark November and December hosts many opportunities to see art if you are in Gdansk.

At CCA Laznia you can see the installations of South Korean artist Kyungwoo Chun. One thousand residents of Gdansk have shared their thoughts on how the Solidarity movement affected their lives. You can see the paintings of Katarzyna Swinarska in her exhibition Family Relations. References to old iconic paintings and pictures from today’s’ media are mixed into reflections on the role of women.  Rosa van Hofwegen has made a scenic and staged ode to deceased mothers with displays of collected memories from many mothers in her exhibition Loss of Sorrow .

Marek Radke shows a spatial and geometric installation at the new Gdansk City Gallery No 1 in the very city centre. In a spirit of a more humorous constructivism his objects reflects ultraviolet rays in different manners and makes you a bit lost in space.  On the backyard of Gdansk City Gallery, on the wall of the old cinema Neptun, there are more surprises for the curious. A monumental wall painting is made by Mariusz Waras and Gionata Gesi. "Last movie" is a bombastic painting above an older mosaic-wall and your eyes wander along between Michelangelo's  Last Judgment, Mickey Mouse and film-history in a mural that really takes over this secret place. Machines and technical spare-parts to something unknown, deconstructed, is a counterpart to all building sites in Gdansk.

At Wyspa Institute of contemporary art in the famous shipyard there is an exhibition called Re-designing the East, on political design. And, if you are there on Friday there is a special house-warming party in their winter cold space.

The Narration-festival using forgotten and neglected locations in the city is however over for this year.

Since the city of Gdansk is a champion to be the Cultural capital 2016 it is great that they are warming up both the art scene and the winter. See you soon!