for residents

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.

26 lutego 2024 roku Warszawskie Obserwatorium Kultury zorganizowało spotkanie przedstawicielek środowiska tanecznego ze Slavą Gepnerem, dyrektorem zarządzającym i artystycznym oraz pomysłodawcą TanzFaktur w Kolonii. Spotkanie miało na celu poznanie historii tej instytucji oraz zdobycie wiedzy o tym, jak budować nowe miejsce dla tańca, czego w tym procesie unikać oraz jak współpracować ze środowiskiem niezależnych tancerzy i choreografów. Spotkanie moderowała Joanna Leśnierowska.

Na zlecenie Warszawskiego Obserwatorium Kultury IPSOS przeprowadził badania na temat nowej instytucji – sceny tańca współczesnego. Raport dostarcza informacji na temat potrzeb środowiska i oczekiwań publiczności, a także zawiera rekomendacje dotyczące założeń programu pilotażowego nowej sceny tańca. Jest to część prowadzonego przez WOK wieloetapowego procesu wspierającego powstawanie tej placówki.

As part of our partnership with Fundacja Stocznia, we are showing the exhibition Connections at WOK Lab. This exhibition is about connections. About combining art with activism, about creating conditions for collective action, but also about constructing narratives that help bridge different contexts. We believe in the importance of polyphony, but also in the search for common ground.

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.

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.

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.

At the Warsaw Observatory of Culture, in collaboration with the dance community, the Culture Bureau of the City of Warsaw, and the Museum of Modern Ar, we are developing a yearly pilot program at the Pavilion by the Vistula River. Our goal is to establish a dance institution in Warsaw.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.