Frac Lorraine Opens 'Familiar Strangers. Une Pologne multiple,' a Polish Art Survey Curated by Joanna Warsza
The exhibition 'Familiar Strangers. Une Pologne multiple,' overseen by curator Joanna Warsza, is on display at Frac Lorraine in Metz from 11 September 2026 to 14 February 2027. This event delves into themes of migration, identity, and cultural interchange in Europe, drawing inspiration from Stuart Hall's essay and the 2015 idea of a 'post-migratory' nation. It showcases the history of Polish labor migration in Lorraine and includes works by artists such as Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, Zuzanna Hertzberg, Assaf Gruber, Jasmina Metwaly, and Renata Kamińska. Visitors are welcomed by 'En attendant le banquet' (2026), a collection of mismatched plates by OPJ Cyganek and Julie Poulain. At the opening, 81-year-old Ewa Partum revived her performance 'Active Poetry.' Warsza highlights the importance of mutual learning.
Key facts
- 'Familiar Strangers. Une Pologne multiple' runs at Frac Lorraine in Metz from 11 September 2026 to 14 February 2027.
- The exhibition is curated by Joanna Warsza and takes Poland as its point of departure.
- Its title is borrowed from Stuart Hall's essay 'Familiar Stranger: A Life Between Two Islands', published in 2017.
- An entrance installation by OPJ Cyganek and Julie Poulain, 'En attendant le banquet' (2026), uses plates collected from Frac visitors, to be reused at a closing banquet.
- Frac Lorraine director Fanny Gonella describes the work as a materially present gesture of hospitality.
- Małgorzata Mirga-Tas (b. 1978) was the first Roma artist to represent Poland at the Venice Biennale, in 2022.
- Ewa Partum, 81, reactivated her performance 'Active Poetry' on the evening of the vernissage.
- The Frac Lorraine is located at 1 Rue des Trinitaires, 57000 Metz.
Entities
Artists
- Zuzanna Hertzberg
- OPJ Cyganek
- Julie Poulain
- Fanny Gonella
- Joanna Warsza
- Stuart Hall
- Małgorzata Mirga-Tas
- Magdalena Abakanowicz
- Assaf Gruber
- Nadir
- Andrzej Wajda
- Krzysztof Kieślowski
- Edyta
- Jasmina Metwaly
- Renata Kamińska
- Rosa Luxemburg
- Ewa Partum
Institutions
- Frac Lorraine
- Beaux Arts Magazine
- Foksal Gallery Foundation
- Biennale de Venise
- musée Bourdelle
- Parti communiste allemand
- École de cinéma de Łódź
- Art Explora
- Vogue
- MEP
- Mrac – Musée régional d'art contemporain Occitanie / Pyrénées Méditerranée
- Collection Pinault
Locations
- Poland
- Lorraine
- France
- Metz
- Ukraine
- Europe
- Venice
- Italy
- Paris
- Egypt
- Zamość
- Berlin
- Warsaw
- Łódź