The Ministry of Culture has announced a revised plan for the Polish Pavilion project at the 60th International Art Exhibition in Venice in 2024. The initially selected exhibition concept, titled “Polish Exercises in the Tragic World. Between Germany and Russia,” is not moving forward as originally proposed. Instead, a reserve project titled “Repeat After Me,” curated by Marta Czyż with the involvement of Open Group members Yuriy Biley, Pavlo Kovach, and Anton Varga, has been deemed suitable for implementation and will be submitted for realization, according to the ministry’s statement on Friday.
After reviewing the competition procedures for the exhibition design and considering feedback from community voices, the Ministry noted that the concept led by Piotr Bernatowicz and Dariusz Karłowicz, with participation by painter Ignacy Trzecios, would not be carried forward. Zachęta Gallery remains responsible for organizing and producing the exhibition and will oversee Poland’s Pavilion in Venice, as confirmed by the ministry.
- The International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia 2024 runs from April 20 to November 24. The overarching theme is Foreigners Are Everywhere, with Adriano Pedrosa serving as general curator.
In the autumn, Piotr Gliński, who previously led the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, accepted the proposal that had included Bernatowicz and Karłowicz along with Ignacy Trzecios. The entry was selected from 24 eligible submissions by a jury composed of several cultural practitioners and scholars, including professors, researchers, and curators who evaluated the projects for their artistic and historical engagement.
The Trzecios project for Venice reflects a deep engagement with the traumatic history of the 20th century. Its curators describe the work as a reflection on the world’s tragic dimension, emphasizing that reality is not a simple pattern but a field of irreconcilable contradictions, conflicts of interest, and dilemmas without straightforward answers.
The Ministry noted that the Polish Pavilion will present an alternative exhibition titled Repeat After Me. The project aims to convey the brutality of war without resorting to graphic imagery. One portion involves video participants who are residents displaced from various regions of Ukraine and temporarily housed in a war refugee camp in Lviv. These participants share memories and impressions of the sounds of war. In one sequence, participants perform a form of karaoke using sounds of weaponry, illustrating how certain experiences resist simple conveyance while highlighting the price of such knowledge.
The project organizers describe the approach as an invitation for viewers to engage more actively with the experience of war. They employ karaoke as a vehicle to connect audiences with contemporary realities by moving beyond passive reception and inviting participation within the Polish pavilion framework.
Contemporary critics have raised questions about the portrayal of war and its symbols, while part of the Polish art community has expressed concern about presenting Ignacy Trzecios’ works at the Biennale. The discussion reflects ongoing debates within the artistic community about how best to address sensitive historical material on an international stage.
Gliński’s response
Professor Piotr Gliński offered critical commentary on the ministry’s decision, noting that the change in direction represented a departure from the prior plan under Sienkiewicz. The former minister expressed disagreement with the new leadership’s choice to alter the pavilion project and to reassign the exhibition’s curatorial responsibilities.
The public discourse, including remarks about the broader media environment and organizational shifts at Zachęta, continued to unfold as the Venice project progressed toward realization. Observers familiar with the cultural landscape highlighted tensions surrounding governance and creative direction within the national art infrastructure.
Analysts and commentators urged readers to consider the developing situation in the context of ongoing debates about artistic autonomy, state involvement, and the relationship between national institutions and international forums. The discussions reflected broader concerns about how cultural policy decisions are communicated and implemented in a public-facing arena.
The discourse around the Venice Biennale and the Polish Pavilion remains part of a larger conversation about how contemporary Polish art engages with history, memory, and global audiences. As the pavilion prepares for its presentation, the emphasis is placed on demonstrating the capacity of modern art to engage with difficult subjects in a manner that invites participation and reflection rather than avoidance.
— reported publicly as part of the ongoing coverage of the Venice Biennale and its Polish Pavilion program.