2023

The Warsaw Observatory of Culture (WOK) is celebrating its second anniversary! As we embark on the next chapter of our operation, we want to take this opportunity to share with you memories, reflections and experiences from the past 365 days.

The symposium focused on the city of Warsaw’s policy towards art studios. The discussion was attended by representatives of grassroots self-organised exhibition spaces operating in premises intended for art studios i.e. the Przyszła Niedoszła gallery and Pracownia Wschodnia. The discussion aimed to raise questions about the reasons why the operation of independent exhibition spaces is hindered and to find possible ways of solving the problem.

The point of reference for this part of the project is Jan Hoet’s 1986 project Chambres d’Amis, which consisted of taking art out of institutions and placing it closer to people and real life, in private homes in Ghent.

As part of the “Artistic, Collective, Metropolitan” project, we collaborated with the Department of Artistic Research and Curatorial Studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Through interviews with artists and the staff of Property Management Divisions of the individual city districts, we gathered information on the actual and statutory functions of art studios. We intestigated the location of the studios in the urban space, their accessibility, and the conditions required to gain access to art studios. The result of the research is an exhibition that will be arranged and presented in the WOK Lab space.

What does the contemporary art community of Warsaw need from an independent space?

Inspiration for new projects usually comes from everything I see, hear, and read ina given time, and this requires time and the ability to focus on the process.

Through activism, I persistently strive to turn Poland into a welcoming country for everyone, and a place filled with acceptance, joy, and freedom of expression.

I noticed the need for a radical change in relations with more-than-humans when I tried to define the climate crisis as a crisis of dialogue.

My change is a transition from the imaginary to the real.

On Friday, 1 December 2023, an engaging workshop on architecture took place at the Museum of Modern Art at ul. Pańska 3. The session was led by Maciej Siuda, the mastermind behind the project to transform the Vistula River Pavilion into a dance centre. The event consisted of two modules: a presentation and a hands-on session. It successfully brought together a diverse group, including representatives from the theatre and dance communities specialising in directing, choreography, performance and architecture. Participants also included technical staff from Nowy Teatr and TR Warszawa and members of the Culture Office of the City of Warsaw.

In late October, the WOK Lab hosted a presentation of Artwork by Florin Flueras. In it, Florin Flueras shifts the focus from the final product of art to the process of experiencing it and asks whether art that transcends consumption is possible. The show featured Eliza Trefas, Martina Piazzi and Florin Flueras.

Are cultural institutions destined to be organised in traditional ways? How can we think differently about structure and working methods? What kind of model would we like to see if we are tired of the hierarchy of roles? How can we communicate effectively? How can we make decisions safe and fast? These and other questions drove the workshop on the basics of sociocracy that I ran for the team of the Warsaw Observatory of Culture. Here is a brief overview of the model discussed for those interested in self-organisation.

We invited artists with a migration or refugee experience to walk around Warsaw, to places that are important to them. Their stories, anecdotes and digressions, opinions and emotions are an attempt to answer the question again: how else could it be In Warsaw? Now ahead is a three-day methodological seminar.

The Warsaw Observatory of Culture is researching the local artistic community and its needs by observing the municipal infrastructure of art studios. The aim of the project is to increase the visibility of art studios and empower artists by highlighting the importance of these premises to the functioning of the city’s cultural scene.

In mid-November, we visited the Nowy Theatre on ul. Madalińskiego as part of our work on planning the Warsaw Dance Centre. This time we were inspired by a post-industrial space adapted to the needs of a theatre.

At the beginning of November, we went on a study visit with representatives of the dance community to the Vistula Pavilion, which now houses the Museum of Modern Art. The pavilion will be adapted to meet the needs of a pilot dance programme next year.

How is it possible that the capital of a Central European country with a population of almost 40 million does not yet have a venue dedicated to one of the most dynamically developing performing arts? - asks Joanna Leśnierowska in a conversation with Julia Hoczyk.

List of Shortcomings is an interdisciplinary theatre project developed by a team of community artists from the Association of Theatre Educators and the Warsaw Observatory of Culture. Together we want to discuss culture as a working environment, the prevalence of precariat as a form of (un)employment in culture and the conditions, hierarchies and the discrepancies between stated values and their realisation.

Presenting the solutions developed by experts for the cultural sector during a time of transition. On 26 September, a debate on the organisation of the financing and functioning of culture in Poland took place at the Nowy Teatr in Warsaw. The debate focused on four main issues: the law on the status of professional artists, cultural institutions, the decentralisation of culture, and social and civic culture.

Elise Bernhardt led a workshop which launched a study aimed at facilitating the process of modelling a dance institution in Warsaw.

What are the interests of young refugees in Warsaw? How can we reach them? These are some of the questions that we at the Warsaw Observatory of Culture have been asking for some time, and then Oksana Kolisnyk, a student of Social Arts at the Institute of Polish Culture at the University of Warsaw, approached us with a request to organise workshops in our WOK.lab.

On 7–9 September, a conference on the creation of the Belarusian Institute of Theatre (BIT) was held at WOK.

In October, the second workshop for the dance community took place at the Warsaw Observatory of Culture. This is the next stage of the work on modelling a new dance institution in Warsaw. The meeting was attended by representatives of dance organisations, the Culture Bureau of the City of Warsaw and WOK. The workshop was chaired by Joanna Leśnierowska.

What do migrants in the capital do for a living? How does housing insecurity affect the lives of Varsovians? Do we feel responsible for the quality of the air in our city? These are just some of the questions we tried to answer during the national scientific conference Warsaw in Sociological Studies. The event, organised by the Warsaw Observatory of Culture, the Institute of Applied Social Sciences at the University of Warsaw and the Polish Sociological Association was held in late November.

Since September 2023, Warsaw Observatory of Culture has been supporting a process of establishing Warsaw’s Pavilion of Dance. So far we were bringing together the Warsaw’s dance community, Bureau of Culture, and Museum of Modern Art to work out the terms of the open call for the pilot programming at the Pavilion and to discuss the needs for accommodating the building of Pavilion on the Vistula to the needs of dance communit. We were also fueling the dance community with knowledge during the workshops we organized.

We present a summary of the discussion Conversations on the performing arts ecosystem: Production House vs. Dance Stage, or How They Do It in Berlin... held on 26 April 2023 at the Komuna Warszawa theatre, with the participation of Joanna Szymajda (dance curator associated with the Art Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences), Urszula Kropiwiec (Deputy Director of Nowy Teatr in Warsaw), Wojtek Ziemilski (director), and Grzegorz Laszuk (co-founder of Komuna Warszawa). The discussion was moderated by Piotr Morawski. The Warsaw Observatory of Culture was a partner of the meeting.

At the Warsaw Observatory of Culture, we carefully monitor the contemporary artistic landscape and the mechanisms that condition it. We are interested in the changes that are currently taking place in this field.

The Warsaw Observatory of Culture was a partner of an international discussion panel during the 22nd edition of the Ciało/Umysł Festival. Our research interests are close to the topic of the state of the creative sector, taking into account the psychophysical well-being and working conditions of people working in the cultural sector, which, among other things, was the subject of the meeting on 7 October 2023.

One year has passed. During this time, we have achieved a great deal, but there have also been many surprises along the way. For us, it has been a period of formation and defining the identity of our institution. The most important experience for us thus far has been change. We understand it both as the dynamics of a contemporary, uncertain world and as the condition of a cultural institution that aims to break down established patterns of thought and attitude. That is why experimentation is embedded in our DNA.

On Friday, 22 September 2023, it was possible to join a story circle about relationships with plants and their healing powers.

On the 16th and 17th of September 2023 at the WOK Lab we invited actors and actresses to take part in a workshop led by Agnieszka Glińska and Weronika Pelczyńska. During the workshop, we looked for tools and methods for inner stabilisation and stimulation.

At WOK, Marta Seredyńska is researching the working conditions of freelancers working in the field of contemporary and conceptual dance.

On 15 July 2023, as part of my residency at the Warsaw Observatory of Culture and Herbal Artistic Research, I organised a herbal zine workshop with the participation of Chwaściarnia (a herbal studio I run as part of the Autonomous Educational Space in Jazdów) and my guests. I also invited artists and educators Joanna Klikowicz and Adu Rączka to co-lead the meeting.

Graphic designer Alicja Kobza and communication strategist Agnieszka Tiutiunik met at the WOK Lab and talked about their experiences. What do you need to think about when creating a visual identity? What is the process like? What to do and what not to do for a successful collaboration?

In December 2022, the Warsaw Observatory of Culture (WOK) concluded a contest for the design of the institution’s visual identity. It was a process we wanted to run in a model-based way, and, as time has shown, the model works. We are sharing our knowledge and expertise to develop best practices in the cooperation between cultural institutions and graphic designers.

There are the conclusions of the discussion entitled Residencies and fellowships, or how to live on(off) the stage/Conversations about the performing arts ecosystem, held as part of a series of conversations on the performing arts system. The meeting took place on 23 June 2023, at Komuna Warszawa.

From 28 to 30 July, the WOK Lab was handed over to Ukrainian youth, who, under the supervision of Oksana Kolisnyk, a student of Social Arts at the University of Warsaw, who is the author of the exhibition and invites everyone to take part in the upcoming programme.

The project offers perspectives on the development of Warsaw's cultural offering until the year 2040. The results showed the directions that cultural institutions should take in view of becoming more attractive in the eyes of young people in the future. The results and the formulated recommendations can be adopted by all institutions in the development of their cultural offer.

WOK Lab host the FSH1 platform for Belarusian photographers. On July 12, 2023, a networking meeting was held aimed at people from the Belarusian art community interested in contemporary photography.

On May 31, the Warsaw Observatory of Culture (WOK) held a meeting between the holders of the City of Warsaw scholarship with directors of cultural institutions. Its purpose was to encourage discussion on matters important to culture in Warsaw now and from a long-term perspective of 150 years. The experts from infuture.institute, whose report served as inspiration, estimated that adopting this long-term perspective is crucial for ensuring a positive future for our cities and culture, benefiting our children and grandchildren.

Warsaw Observatory of Culture takes part in an artistic residency programme for creators from Belarus and Ukraine, organised by the Zbigniew Raszewski Theatre Institute. As a host institution we provide care and support, we try to include the Resident in our networks and partnerships, as well as in the rhythm of the institution's daily work by giving her a chance to get to know how a public cultural institution in Poland functions.

Experience the world of virtual reality and generative digital environments at the Warsaw Observatory of Culture (WOK) during the Reality Bender graduation project exhibition. The exhibition was feature the latest graduation projects from the 3D and Virtual Events Studio II, part of the Media Arts Department at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts.

The Museum Watch Governance Management Project was drafted to help the museum community address management challenges more efficiently. The idea emerged out of the existing Museum Watch Programme, introduced by CIMAM with the aim ‘to assist modern and contemporary art museum professionals in dealing with critical situations that undermine their ability to undertake their professional practice and effect a museum’s ability to operate to international standards of best practice’.

The Cultural Map of Warsaw project is developed alongside our other projects, and research and artistic processes. By adding new thematic layers, we will develop a map of Warsaw, or more precisely, a map of Warsaws – accessible, created and respected by different groups. We want it to benefit the people of Warsaw, respond to their needs, and inspire them to make unusual and surprising discoveries.

A showcase of the work Secondary Archive: Ukrainian artists' sound statements was shown in the WOK's front window from 23 February until 5 March 2023. The installation could be seen and heard from 34/50 Marszałkowska Street.

The Warsaw Observatory of Culture is one of the members of the React! network of culture organisers.

We would like to thank all the shortlisted participants for the inspiring conversations. During the interviews, our aim was to understand the needs of the applicants as best as possible and to determine the conditions necessary to support them in their exploration processes.

The Committee, composed of Szymon Adamczak, Małgorzata Bakalarz-Duverger, Anna Galas-Kosil, and Magdalena Komornicka, would like to thank all the applicants for their submissions and materials. The reading and evaluation process was crucial and inspiring for us.

Process-ing Change. An Artistic and Research Accompaniment

The guest speakers invited to a panel discussion about the international governance management practices for institutions of culture in the context of contemporary social and political challenges were as follows: Bart de Baere, long-time Director of the M HKA, or the Contemporary Art Museum in Antwerp, chairman of the Museum Watch programme and co-author of the "Governance Management Project", and Dr Aleksandra Janus, Director of the Centrum Cyfrowe, researcher and curator of cultural projects, co-author of the Museum Laboratory project.

On 17–28 March, WOK Lab hosted eighteen participants and four mentors for the curatorial and research activities of Territory in/out.

Institutions of culture worldwide have found themselves at a watershed moment. They can pursue their mission and realise their growth potential at a time of unprecedented accumulation of negative external factors, which we have not seen for many years. On top of the challenges related to the development of technology, climate change, armed conflicts, and subsequent waves of migration, we now have to deal with the tensions connected with the populist turn and, as a consequence, the change of priorities in cultural policy.

At the invitation of the Museum of Warsaw, the WOK project team developed and executed a pilot evaluation process of the production of the Museum's temporary exhibitions.

The study of cultural education in Warsaw is a study of the city itself: its radically changing community; its shifts and uncertainties in the face of global challenges; as well as its local conditions and their impact on the lives of Warsaw’s residents. WOK presents the report Cultural Education in Research and Action, which concludes the second phase of our study on cultural education practices in Warsaw.

WOK Lab – workshop space located at ul. Marszałkowska 34/50
WOK Office – you can find us at ul. Mokotowska 29a in Warsaw.

Since we work on a project basis, we do not have regular office hours. If you wish to visit us at the office, please contact us so we can schedule an appointment.

We have prepared an Ethics Map to help everyone, working at and collaborating with WOK, understand the essence of the desired behaviours and conduct. This is the kind of institution we want to create, and this is how we want to live and work together.

The Warsaw Observatory of Culture runs an artistic-research residency programme. Every year, in early spring, we announce a new thematic edition and format of the few-month-long WOK Residencies.

We believe that knowledge and culture have much to offer and can serve as a platform for mutual conversation and formulating an outlook for the future. We also want to create a space for experimentation and exploration for people working in art and involved in research work. We are interested in non-obvious forms and formats in projects that bridge local practice and global discourse.

Let's get to know each other! The Warsaw Observatory of Culture (WOK) is a new cultural institution of the Capital City of Warsaw. It presents a completely innovative format and has been operational since September 1, 2022.