People's State Archive

artists:
Bobuk, Marta Bieńkowska-Musiał, Izabela Bochenko, Aurel Borowy, Maria Bugajska Kondrad, Monika Czyżewska, Aleksandra Dąbrowska, Anna Drabik, Szymon Dziedzic, Agata Gołąb, Kalina Gromek-Gałecka, Władysław GuŚtak, Aleksandra Imosa, Marta Jamróg, Katarzyna Kacprzak, Kiju Klejzik, Zofia Kotynia, Józef Kozara, Maria Kubić, Agnieszka Laskowska, Marzena Majka, Józef Mycek, Małgorzata Mycek, Katarzyna Onacko/pracownia LuiDu, Robert Onacko/ pracownia LuiDu, Katarzyna Perlak, Kamila Przybysz, Katarzyna Rotter-Jarzębińska, Aleksandra Rusin/mar.za,, Krystyna Sikorska, Patrycja Stala, Monika Szumińska-Németh, Marta Terier, Gabriela Weyher, Weronika Wielecka, Antonina Witmajer, Joanna Wiśnia Rey, Sabina Sitarz, Monika Wolańska, Anna Woś-Sosińska, Elwira Sztetner, Katarzyna Wójcik, Kasia Ziomek/ Pepesza Ceramik 

curator: Małgorzata Mycek

In a world where old class, aesthetic, and cultural divisions have disintegrated, the concept of "folk art" loses its original meaning. It no longer functions as a coherent, autonomous category describing a specific group of creators or a particular mode of production, but rather as a historical construct, a tool developed by institutions to organize and classify artistic practices.

Contemporary experiences of folk culture are shaped by internal migrations, widespread access to media, and a continuous flow of images, forms, and narratives. In the past, "folk art" had a more hermetic and organic character, closely tied to place, land, and local community, with its shape primarily determined by the creators themselves and ethnographic researchers. Today, its boundaries have changed, and practices once labeled as folk are becoming a field of inspiration for individuals operating in various social and geographical contexts, not necessarily linked to rural areas or traditionally conceived communities. This change demands new ways of description, archiving, and visibility.

In response to these processes, the exhibition proposes a departure from old divisions. "People's State Archive" is a provocative name because it archives not only the products of creative activity but also relationships, practices, and experiences. By relinquishing established, artificial oppositions between "high" academic art and "low" folk art, the project becomes a space for building a field of equal visibility, where value is not assigned to works based on the biographies of their creators.

The exhibition showcases works that, through their expressive means, refer to craft traditions such as ceramics, textiles, embroidery, bead jewelry, wood carving, and icon painting. Rooted in historical forms and techniques, they also address contemporary themes: experiences of grief and trauma, queerness, and the search for spirituality. They relate to the relationship between humans and nature and to ornamental symbolism, but they also function as objects with an autonomous, aesthetic-decorative character.

Within the exhibition, individuals without formal artistic education meet those who have obtained such education and have made art their professional practice. Alongside works by contemporary artists, a fascinating element of the exhibition is the presentation of pieces by the artists' grandparents—Władysław Guśtak, the grandfather of Małgorzata Mycek, and Józef Kozara, my grandfather. Their non-professional creative activities significantly influenced the shape of our artistic practice. This process was based on observation and transmission—informal sharing of knowledge and skills characteristic of traditional folk practices. Works by Władysław Guśtak can still be seen in the historic church in Radoszyce.

A significant context for this exhibition is folk universities. Most of the works presented belong to graduates of the now-defunct Lesser Poland Folk University in Wzdów and the Folk University of Artistic Crafts in Wola Sękowa. Folk universities emerged as non-institutional educational facilities, based on partnership, self-governance of participants, and lifelong learning, rather than a teacher-student hierarchy. Their model aimed to empower all participants in the educational process and to make decisions collectively, creating a space for democratic knowledge exchange and social activation.

In Poland, folk universities began to emerge in the 20th century, first during the interwar period and later after World War II as places for adult education and local animation. One such institution was the Folk University in Wzdów, founded in 1959, which operated for nearly half a century in an 18th-century palace, organizing cultural and educational courses and craft workshops. In 2006, its activities were continued at the Folk University of Artistic Crafts in Wola Sękowa, emphasizing practical crafts, the protection and development of cultural heritage, and the activation of the local community. A crucial role in the functioning of the University in Wola Sękowa is played by women lecturers, highlighting a conscious challenge to the model based on authority and hierarchy. This model remains strongly present in state institutions of artistic education, such as Fine Arts Academies, where a significant portion of the teaching staff is still male.

"The People's State Archive" proposes a new perspective on art as a living process of tradition transmission and collaboration. It tells a story of new ways of seeing that oppose the logic of divisions that have long organized thinking about art.