Warsaw’s audience has long been accustomed to seeing mostly music performers and comedy acts touring the capital. But over the past year, the situation has begun to change — Warsaw’s cultural listings have started to feature events whose purpose is not only entertainment. After such evenings, the audience keeps reflecting on what they’ve seen, growing wiser and richer spiritually.

We met with the organizers of “AEVENT WARSAW”, who appeared in the city not long ago but have already managed to bring to the capital, for example, educator Dima Zitser, the one-woman show “Nadezhdiny” by Masha Mashkova, as well as a screening of Nikolay Solodnikov’s film “In Your Sleep You Cried Bitterly”. Now they are preparing a stage for the stand-up of renowned journalist and writer Katerina Gordeeva “A Lot of Personal Things”.

How it all began, and who came up with AEVENT WARSAW

It turned out that the project AEVENT WARSAW was born thanks to the idea of Antonina and Evgenia and has been active since June 2024.

Vitrina: Tell us, how did the idea for AEVENT WARSAW come about?

AW: We are friends, and we started noticing that interesting, talented, and creatively significant personalities were touring various European capitals but not coming to Warsaw. At first, we felt frustrated, and then the idea came up to create conditions to invite such people to the Polish capital. So we joined forces and decided to create an event agency.

Vitrina: And what were you doing before this?

AW: Antonina was running her own businesses in the tourism and real estate sectors, both abroad and in Poland. For me (Evgenia speaking), management and analytics have always been my path. I worked as a business analyst and consultant. In the company, we conducted business research, built process maps, software, and carried out analyses of the entire organizational activity — production, finance, logistics. We programmed and structured all of this. Naturally, this experience is now extremely useful in our more creative direction.

Plus, we are mothers, and being a mom is the best managerial school (laughs). Getting a five-year-old ready, coping with tantrums and panic attacks — all that toughens your character, and later on, this experience subconsciously helps to foresee the impossible.

For example, when organizing an event, we pay attention to the number of restrooms — especially women’s, how to avoid long queues for drinks, how to guide those who get lost when showing tickets. We even test the seats in the venues ourselves, to understand how comfortable the audience will feel during a long performance.

Vitrina: Who was your first guest in Warsaw, and why?

AW: The first guest we hosted within our organization was educator Dima Zitser, founder of the much-talked-about informal education school “Orange” in St. Petersburg. He came with his famous program “To Love, Not to Educate”, the central theme of which is introducing methods of raising children without harming their individuality and personality.

It was a four-hour conversation with the audience, something people had been eagerly awaiting. During the event, the audience laughed and cried. Dima is an incredible whirlwind that must be heard and listened to. Recently, he published his book “Love in Times of Turbulence”. He also directed a play based on Artur Solomonov’s interview with a Berlin resident, performed by journalist Olga Romanova. The play is called “Frau” and addresses Germany and Hitler. With our support, its Warsaw premiere will take place on April 2.

Vitrina: How do you select your guests? How do you predict whether the performance will be in demand in Warsaw?

AW: These are personalities who are, first of all, interesting to us personally. Of course, we also look for people with an active European schedule, who can easily come to Warsaw. At this point, we’re guided by the audience we’ve already formed. We’ve realized that what resonates with our public is art reflecting today’s realities and voices of our time — those who openly speak out about them.

Vitrina: What does the organization process look like, and what is the main challenge?

AW: Once we get preliminary approval from our guest to come to Warsaw, we begin looking for and preparing the venue. Then comes careful planning for transfer, accommodation, and comfortable stay. We even check the guest’s hotel and mattress (laughs). The main challenge, though, is competition. There are companies with contractors in multiple European cities, and it’s quite difficult to compete with them.

Vitrina: How do you set ticket prices?

AW: The price is based on total expenses, considering all aspects of the organization. The largest portion — more than half — is usually the venue rental. Then we cover transportation and accommodation, taxes, the guest’s fee, and a small profit for us. We try to make sure our work is valued. Importantly, we also appreciate the trust of our audience and have introduced a loyalty system for regular viewers.

Vitrina: Do you do all the work just the two of you?

AW: Yes, we handle the main work ourselves. Luckily, at later stages we’re joined by volunteers, photographers, bloggers. Gradually, our team is forming, and soon we’ll be ready for more frequent and larger-scale events. A good sign is that late last year, we began receiving requests from others to organize events in Warsaw.

Vitrina: Your upcoming event is Katerina Gordeeva’s stand-up. What can the audience expect, and why Katerina?

AW: Gordeeva is an incredibly strong personality whose work leaves a lasting mark on everyone who encounters it. This stand-up is deeply personal, and while many of the stories are hilariously funny, some end in inconsolable tears. On the other hand, there are also heartbreaking stories that, in the end, make the audience laugh like children — happily and carefree.

During the performance, Katerina will read a short fragment from a book she’s currently finishing, as well as a chapter from her recently published work “Carry Away My Sorrow”.

Moreover, following our project’s concept, we try to erase the distance between artist and audience. As a result, the audience receives small gifts, surprise moments, and even warm hugs from the performers themselves.

Future Plans

AW: In our future events, we’d like to touch on music and literature as well. We’re planning to organize events in Polish, French, and English, broadening the creative range of our guests.

We believe in the further development of this project and see that art is very much needed by Warsaw’s audience. That’s why we’re open to collaborations and new ideas, even beyond the capital. We’re studying international demand and thinking about events not only for Russian-speaking audiences.

We personally attend events abroad, trying to establish contacts. We understand that we need to gain more experience in order to reach and match the standards of an international level.

Vitrina: Do you plan to organize a series of your guests’ performances in other Polish cities?

AW: Yes, absolutely. That’s our plan for this year.

We thank Antonina and Evgenia for the interview and wish them many new and exciting guests. By the way, Vitrina.pl readers can suggest names of personalities they would like to see in Warsaw.

You can contact the organizers directly via Instagram @aevent.warsaw or through the website aevent.com.pl.

And one more thing — tickets for Katerina Gordeeva’s stand-up “A Lot of Personal Things” are still available.

📌 Source: vitrina.pl

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