‘Culture Sparks Unity’ is the theme of Poland’s vibrant and extensive cultural program celebrating its Presidency of the Council of the European Union (1 January to 30 June 2025). Organised by the renowned Adam Mickiewicz Institute (AMI), the program is designed to promote the themes of solidarity and international cooperation and showcases leading figures in Polish art and design. It presents highlights of the contemporary Polish art scene from both established creative names and the emerging generation of artists, designers and creative practitioners.
The AMI’s mission is to take Polish culture to the world, highlighting its richness and diversity. It seeks to create lasting interest in Polish culture and art through strengthening the presence of Polish artists on the global stage. The AMI has also organised this year’s Polish Pavilion at the London Design Biennale entitled Records of Waiting: On Time and Ornament. This fascinating exhibition transforms the intangible experience of the passing of time into the material substance of a sculptural installation. Drawing on the woodcarving traditions of Poland’s mountain regions, it uses ornaments to visually represent the process of waiting. Waiting here is considered to be both a purely aesthetic and political experience, a tool for exercising control, but also a potential enabler of empowerment.
At the heart of ‘Culture Sparks Unity’ is Regeneration: An exhibition of Polish Design at the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament in the heart of Brussels. Regeneration is curated by Aleksandra Kędziorek and explores the fresh creative energy defining the new generation of Polish artists, designers and makers. These bold creatives are already making their mark on the international art world and are reshaping the global perception of Polish art and design. They are also contributing to the vital global dialogue around cultural identity, sustainability and innovation.
Kędziorek is a respected art historian and curator who is one of the practitioners representing Poland at the Venice Architecture Biennale; she is also the curator of the Polish Pavilion for next year’s Venice Biennale. “Regeneration is a cohesive theme,” says Kędziorek, “full of positive energy and geared toward the future.” The exhibitions speak to the urgent need to care for our shared resources, build resilience, practise interpersonal and interspecies solidarity, and foster a sense of security and comfort.
As part of Regeneration, many interior spaces in the European Union buildings have been redesigned by leading Polish architect Katarzyna Baumiller to create places for relaxation, contemplation and quiet conversation. The Katarzyna Baumiller Studio is known for pinpointing the distinctive character of each space. Using gentle colour palettes, inviting textures and engaging shapes, Baumiller has created unique concepts as ‘aesthetic interventions’ that echo the theme of regeneration. There is also a nod to the past, which is in itself an ode to regeneration and rebirth.
“Regeneration is visible here in many places,” she says. “It is in the choice of fresh colours and soft hues, which are there to create a sense of wellbeing; in the Jacquard tapestries that tamp down the acoustics and soften the interior; in the recycled materials, which once were waste and have now been reborn as brand new innovative objects and furniture by talented Polish designers.”
The spaces have been further enhanced with a selection of works by Polish artists and a display of iconic porcelain figurines from the 1960s, which are now being produced again for new generations to appreciate and admire. Baumiller says her work seeks to highlight “the quality of a space enshrouded by the values of harmony, gentleness and imagination. I believe that these values have truly regenerative powers”.
As you enter the Justus Lipsius building, you walk through We Are the Weather a stunning installation by Alicja Patanowska that fills the vast atrium. The central motif of the work is water, as both a literal and symbolic life source and as a metaphor for the fragility of interspecies interdependence.
The installation consists of complementary elements that create a narrative about the need for cooperation and solidarity in the face of global climate challenges. The fountains tell the story of climate change from the perspective of water, with cobalt blue water-catchers to remind us that fresh water is a vital resource to be cherished, shared and protected collectively, while the composition of ceramic tiles forms a visual story about its limited availability.
The work encourages reflection on interdependence, solidarity and cooperation, all critical values in pursuing a safe and sustainable future for Europe. Patanowska says she was moved to borrow the title from Jonathan Safran Foer’s important book We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast (2019).
Looking Through Objects: Women in Contemporary Polish Design, on display at Design Museum Brussels, is an accompanying event of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union’s cultural program. Showcasing the works of 16 Polish women designers, these creations reflect a rich array of singular achievements. We can see design as a catalyst for art, crafts and industry to manifest the individual creative choices of the maker. From this perspective, design over time has mirrored cultural, societal and economic changes.
Looking Through Objects is a new and original exhibition that illustrates the major role played by women designers in Poland today as active, independent protagonists who think about design in a way that is far removed from the traditional roles of muses and patrons. Interestingly, it talks to the personal lives of each designer and how these circumstances, such as parenting, working or caring, influence their creative practice. It considers their inspirations, strategies and approaches to materials.
The range of creative visions and modes of design practice show how the confluence of art, craft and technology achieves a unique creative outcome. From very pragmatic approaches to complete creative freedom, this colourful and considered exhibition reflects a multitude of creative processes. During the last decade, mindfulness and holistic thinking have become essential characteristics of the design process rather than the focus on short-term performance and the impact of novelty that was often favoured in the past.
Over at the magnificent Royal Museum of Art and History in Brussels you can see Sawore, Sawore, Sawore (Everything, Everything, Everything) by Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, one of the most acclaimed contemporary Polish-Roma artists working today. This centrepiece work is described as ‘a monumental intervention’. It is a wall-sized textile work that responds to the Museum’s world-renowned permanent collection of magnificent 16th century tapestries.
Often present and yet frequently marginalised in the historic works, Romani women and children are the focus of Mirga-Tas’ work, including portraits of her own mother and family. This work continues her critical dialogue with art history, restoring the voice of groups previously overlooked or excluded from the European canon. The Art and History Museum houses Belgium’s largest and most varied collection and is located in the beautiful Parc du Cinquantenaire. The grandeur of the building alone makes it worth a visit.
Mirga-Tas is also featured in Familiar Strangers, an expansive exhibition at the Bozar Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels that looks at the recent changes taking place across Eastern Europe from the perspective of artists living in Poland. Familiar Strangers aims to foreground people and communities from diasporas and minorities in a region traditionally considered to be culturally homogenous, even if that was never the lived reality. With 40 works by 13 artists, this exhibition talks to the critical relationship between art and activism in the public sphere and explores how social and political struggles are always intertwined with personal stories. There are moments here of feminist and queer resistance, explorations of voluntary or forced migration, and the experiences of being a person of colour in a predominantly white society.
Familiar Strangers offers a vivid polyphonic portrait of modern Poland through paintings, sculptures, videos, films, installations and textiles. Curator Joanna Warsza says the exhibition “is about the Westo-centrism of the European collective that has only been palpable since the tragic invasion of Ukraine. It is finally about the necessity of a Europe in which we see and hear each other for who we really are, with and despite our differences”.
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These exhibitions have all come together under the banner of ‘Culture Sparks Unity’, marking Poland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. It is an extensive and dynamic cultural program from January to June 2025 with events in over 20 countries worldwide and centred in Brussels, the home of the European Union. Together, the program offers a comprehensive survey of the dynamic and ever-evolving landscape of contemporary Polish art and design.
The writer visited Brussels as a guest of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
