It’s been two years

Another year has passed in which the Warsaw Observatory of Culture staff has contributed to shaping Warsaw’s culture. Research projects, workshops and conferences – both national and international – are just a sampling of the areas of culture and science in which our experts have been involved. Let us take a look back at what we have been up to!

For the Warsaw Observatory of Culture, people are important because they actively shape the culture of Warsaw. We support creative people primarily through our residency programme. This year, under the motto “Break or Breakthrough?”, the second edition of our research and artist residencies is underway. The mission of our residencies is to support residents in their professional and personal development.

Therefore, we would like to mention initiatives that respond to the need to provide security and comfort for creative people. WOK works with ICORN (International Cities of Refuge Network), an organisation of cities that offer refuge to people in danger. We are currently preparing to host a Uyghur woman who is taking part in our residency programme. However, our commitment does not end there!

We are also committed to addressing the situation of parents, particularly those working in the creative professions. WOK is endorsing a pilot home residency programme for artists who are mothers. In the summer of 2024, we launched a study on the situation of parents in creative professions.

Research lies at the core of WOK’s interests. Research is at the heart of the WOK’s interests. It underpins our collaboration and support of cultural professionals, the arts community and academia. In the past year we have researched cultural education and initiatives promoting readership to young people. We have also been involved in academic collaboration projects with students and researchers. Crucially, the conclusions of our research always move the process forward. We work with practitioners and cultural educators at networking meetings and discuss ‘hot topics’. Together, we develop support tools in cultural education and co-create a training programme around ‘new readership’. Working with students, we have expanded the fields of knowledge production and distribution, for example, through the research and exhibition project on art studios we carried out. Collaborating with researchers creates a space for interdisciplinary exchange around artistic research. We also offer our space to explore new trends, such as data activism, which Kuba Piwowar, for example, has written about for us. Please find the link to the article below.

Read more about our flagship research initiatives:

One crucial research and artistic endeavour focusing on the relationship between people and the city is the “In Warsaw” project, in which we invited artists with a migration or refugee experience to walk around places that are important to them. This project is an opportunity to look at the city in a new way and to ask questions in the context of the situation of migrants; it is also an invitation to consider innovative methodologies for studying the city. The seminar and publication we are planning will be its culmination – or perhaps an invitation to yet another journey.

As we think a lot about and benefit from the digital revolution, to broaden the field of research and discussion about culture, we have developed a series of podcasts called “Being a Director” Olga Wysocka and Igor Stokfiszewski have interviewed directors of different institutions, asking them about the changes taking place there, the strategies they follow, and the emotions involved in this kind of work. We invite you to visit our Spotify channel (WOK.cast) and recommend listening to podcasts with Karolina Ziębińska-Lewandowska, Director of the Museum of Warsaw, Anna Rochowska, Director of the TR Warszawa theatre, Alicja Brudło, Director of the Oko Culture Centre, Paweł Łysak, Director of the Powszechny theatre, Paweł Płoski, Director of the Warsaw Caricature Museum, and Joanna Mytkowska, Director of the Museum of Modern Art.

We are also interested in the voices of WOK residents, which is why we have recorded podcasts in a series entitled “Who WOK supports?” in which we talk to the residents of the first edition of the residency programme.

We shape the discourse through our actions and are keen to share our insights on culture-related topics at conferences and workshops. The “Building Back Better” project aims to initiate international cooperation regarding the challenges of Ukraine’s reconstruction. On the second day of the “Warsaw in Research” conference, which we hosted, we presented the results of a study we conducted on cultural education in Warsaw.

Over the past year, we have been deeply involved in the creation of a dance institution Warsaw, to be housed in the Pavilion on the Vistula River. Together with the dance community, the municipal Culture Bureau and the Museum of Modern Art, we held workshops and conducted research to analyse and evaluate the project. WOK’s role in the process changed with the announcement of the competition for the Pavilion programme. We ceased to be just a process facilitator and became a source of knowledge. We continue to support the dance community and are happy to share our experience and inspiration.

The second year of operation of the Warsaw Observatory of Culture has brought many changes – both planned (i.e. the expansion of our activities) and unexpected ones, such as a change in WOK’s management. Since Olga Wysocka, the former director of the Warsaw Observatory of Culture, was appointed the director of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute on 1 May 2024, the WOK is now managed by Małgorzata Bakalarz-Duverger.

However, we are still following the directions we originally set and observe the culture community, the people who create and support it with their invaluable (often underestimated) work.

A new year and new tasks are ahead of us, and our plans include researching the ecosystem of cultural institutions in Warsaw and studying participation in culture. We also intend to participate in the establishment of the National Observatory of Culture, continue to study cultural education, and support initiatives promoting readership among young people. In addition, WOK will continue its involvement in the academic world, and we plan to cooperate with the University of Warsaw, the Academy of Fine Arts, and the SWPS University. Another important project we will carry out in 2024 is the evaluation of the next stages of establishing an institution for dance and choreography in Warsaw… Above all, however, we are planning a series of talks, conversations, meetings, observations, and other exchanges that will inspire us and lead us into new territories.

We are delighted to have you with us and invite you to follow our future activities!

The WOK Team