Piotr Bernatowicz appointed director of Warsaw's Center for Contemporary Art amid political shifts in Poland's culture.
In 2020, Piotr Bernatowicz took the helm of Warsaw's Center for Contemporary Art (CCA) without a competitive selection process, igniting public protests. This development is part of a broader trend following the right-wing Law and Justice party's (PiS) electoral victory in 2015, during which Minister Piotr Gliński enacted budget cuts. Nationalist themes have been highlighted in institutions like the Museum of World War Two and Polin Museum. After Agnieszka Morawińska's resignation, Jerzy Miziołek became director of the National Museum in Warsaw in 2019, but his lack of effectiveness resulted in protests and his eventual ousting. Additionally, Alicja Knast was dismissed from Muzeum Śląskie for political reasons. Bernatowicz has scaled back the CCA's programming, terminated its partnership with the Anti-Fascist Year initiative, and intends to promote more conservative art.
Key facts
- Piotr Bernatowicz appointed director of Center for Contemporary Art in Warsaw in 2020 without competition
- Law and Justice party won Polish parliamentary elections in Autumn 2015
- Minister of Culture and National Heritage Piotr Gliński implemented funding cuts for cultural institutions
- Jerzy Miziołek appointed director of National Museum in Warsaw in 2019, later dismissed after protests
- Alicja Knast fired as director of Muzeum Śląskie in Katowice for resisting political use
- Historical museums like Museum of World War Two in Gdańsk and Polin Museum in Warsaw are central to controversies
- Museum of Cursed Soldiers opened in Ostrołęka, emphasizing nationalist history
- Bernatowicz ended CCA collaboration with Anti-Fascist Year and reduced 2020 program
Entities
Artists
- Karol Sienkiewicz
- Alicja Knast
- Agnieszka Morawińska
- Jerzy Miziołek
- Natalia LL
- Jerzy Kalina
- Piotr Bernatowicz
- Karol Radziszewski
- Lech Kaczyński
- Jarosław Kaczyński
Institutions
- Center for Contemporary Art (CCA)
- Law and Justice party (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, PiS)
- Ministry of Culture and National Heritage
- Museum of Art in Łódź
- Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw
- Zachęta National Gallery of Art
- Muzeum Śląskie
- National Museum in Warsaw
- Museum of World War Two in Gdańsk
- Polin Museum (Museum of the History of Polish Jews)
- Museum of Cursed Soldiers in Ostrołęka
- Arsenal
- Anti-Fascist Year
- ARTMargins Online
Locations
- Warsaw
- Poland
- Łódź
- Katowice
- Gdańsk
- Ostrołęka
- Poznań
- Smolensk