Forms of Friendship Guided Tour at Arsenal Gallery

A guided tour of 'Forms of Friendship' at the Arsenał Municipal Gallery in Poznań, curated by Jarosław Kozłowski and Luiza Kempińska, explores works from the NET Collection and Akumulatory 2 Gallery. The NET Manifesto (1971) by Kozłowski and Andrzej Kostołowski proposed free exchange of ideas across Cold War borders, first received in a private flat in Poznań in 1972 before a Security Service raid. Akumulatory 2 Gallery, founded in 1972 at 7 Zwierzyniecka Street, operated without institutional backing, hosting nearly 200 events over 19 years. The exhibition draws on Bojana Pejić's essay 'A Politics of Friendship (Remembered)' and Jacques Derrida's 'The Politics of Friendship', framing friendship as a non-hierarchical, horizontal art history practice. The tour highlights the network's intermediaries, including censors and customs officials, and the materiality of letters and parcels. Over 60 artists are featured, including Joseph Beuys, Yoko Ono, Gilbert & George, and Lawrence Weiner.