EVENT CALENDAR/MUSEUMS museums & galleries Copernicus Science Centre ul. Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie 20, www.kopernik.org.pl If you thought the Chopin Museum was space age then just wait till you visit this place. Interactive, witty and surprising, Copernicus allows visitors to experience an earthquake, blast recycable objects into space and become a mystery cracking detective. Galeria BZZZ, designed for children aged up to six, is a must for families, and also ‘The Heavens of Copernicus’, a state-of-the-art planetarium. CSW ul. Jazdów 2, www.csw.art.pl Situated in a baroque-style castle the center hosts artists from all over the world (Flor Garduno, for instance). The on-site bookshop is of particular interest for artists and intellectuals. December 2nd – January 29th Enclave (Enklawa) illustrates how Kaliningrad in Russia has evolved from living proof of Soviet demagogy into a city leaving its past behind and searching for a new identity. The Fryderyk Chopin Museum in Warsaw
Ostrogski Palace, ul. Okólnik 1, www.chopin.museum Recognized as one of the most hi-tech museums in Europe, the world even, computer chip tickets allow visitors the chance to peronalize the museum experience as never before. Over 5,000 objects are present, among them his pocket watch, last piano, a lock of hair and even his death mask. December 2nd – January 1st 2012 Chopin 2010 Post Scriptum A summary of the Chopin year held in 2010, as well as an exhibition of Chopin-inspired graphic art.
assumed a doubly sinister function under the Nazis. Some 100,000 Polish political prisoners were held here, 37,000 of which were executed on-site. Split in two sections, cells are found on one side, while on the other the full story of the invasion and occupation. Of interest, a brilliant interactive display of wartime Warsaw. Ongoing: And life would have to go on. Women in Ravensbrück concentration camp.
Legia Museum ul. Łazienkowska 6, www.legia.com One for the lads. Aside from silverware affirming Legia’s status, find a vast collection of shirts, pennants and paintings (even part of an old floodlight). Pride of place goes to Legia’s favorite son, 80’s super star Kazimierz Deyna. Ongoing: an exhibition titled Legia on the Continent and a display of letters written to Kazimierz Deyna by his fans.
Poster Museum in Wilanów ul. St. Kostki Potockiego 10/16 With a collection that touches the 55,000 mark, here’s the biggest poster museum in the world – and also the original. Art spans the period from 1892 till 2002, and while the majority is Polish orientated works on display also include those by Dali and Warhol. December 8th – January 31st 2012 The point of view of Rambow Günter Rambow is one the top poster artists in the world; politically involved, his subject matter includes the Vietnam war and the revival of fascism in his home country Germany.
Pawiak ul. Dzielna 24/26 What was once a Tsarist prison
The State Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw ul. Kredytowa 1,
Insider’s Pick Goshka Macuga Zachęta National Art Gallery Pl. Małachowskiego 3, www.zacheta.art.pl
G
oshka Macuga is not the first Polish artist to be appreciated more abroad than back in her homeland. This distinction also applies to some other remarkable artists, such as Ewa Kuryluk, Magdalena Abakanowicz and Igor Mitoraj. It is no suprise that her exhibition in Zachęta, prepared Deutsches Volk - deutsche Arbeit (2008) specially for the gallery, is actually her first solo exhibition in Poland. Macuga’s method of work is called “culture archaeology”, as she sources her creations from archives and cultural texts related to the history of the institution, maneuvering between a variety of different styles and techniques. Her Zachęta project touches on the subject of censorship in Polish art after 1989, giving an over view of numerous of attacks on objects of art, artists, curators and directors. So, just what motivates people to vandalise objects of art? And what was Daniel Olbrychski doing with a sword inside the Zachęta anyway? Check Macuga’s exhibition to view her answer.
ethnomuseum.website.pl Established in 1888 the 76,000 strong collection here is not the dull ensemble you may anticipate: just check the utterly bizarre straw costumes for proof. Polish folk costume, glassware, paintings and even Easter eggs feature prominently, but so do other countries. Museum of Technology Palace of Culture, pl. Defilad 1, www.muzeum-techniki.waw.pl The very opposite of the new-fangled Copernicus Centre, here’s a place that embraces the old way of doing things. On show an eccentric – occasionally ludicrous – collection of junk that ranges from 8-bit computers to a German ‘Enigma’ machine. Ongoing: 60 years of the FSO (Passenger Cars Factory) and an exhibition of ‘microminiatures’ (sic!). Warsaw Uprising Museum ul. Grzybowska 79, www.1944.pl Cope with the crowds to discover the definitive story of the Uprising. Exhibits range from a full size replica of a liberator plane, to a sewer beneath the cinema screen and a slice of bread preserved from 1944. And don’t miss the ‘City of Ruins’, a five minute 3D film which takes you on an aerial journey over devastated Warsaw. Outside, check the Nazi bunker behind the office, the panoramic view tower and the original statue of Prince Poniatowski – now a ripped metal hulk. Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw ul. Pańska 3, www.artmuseum.pl Ongoing: Partners. Photographer and artist around 1970 year - an exhibition telling the story of 9 meetings between photographers and artists, often friends and lovers at the same time. Also Ryan Gander’s three meter installation in Plac Defilad: Really shiny things that >> don’t mean anything.
www.warsawinsider.pl
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