12:00–13:20 | Discussion
Mistresses! What Can We Do for You? In Search of the Women Artists of the Wrocław Group
The discussion will focus on the female artists of the Wrocław Group. Together, we will reflect on what we, as researchers, viewers, critics, institutions, galleries, collectors, etc.—in short, the audience of art—can do to support the memory of the Wrocław Group’s women artists by asking the right questions and adopting the proper perspective. How can we uncover the unknown and bring back what has been forgotten? And above all, how can we break away from established patterns of thinking about art history and instead focus on “herstory”?
Moderator:
Alicja Klimczak-Dobrzaniecka – art historian, editor-in-chief of the Artistic Magazine *Format*, lecturer at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław, exhibition curator, and author of numerous texts. From 2008 to 2021, she was associated with BWA Wrocław Contemporary Art Galleries.
Participants:
Ewa Pluta – art historian working at the Wrocław City Museum. Curator of both historical and contemporary art exhibitions. Co-curator of the SURVIVAL Art Review. At the Art Transparent Foundation, she leads Senior Art Walk tours, researches the biography of Hanna Krzetuska, and promotes the accessibility of contemporary art.
Alina Drapella-Hermansdorfer – architect, professor at Wrocław University of Science and Technology, specializing in landscape and sustainable architecture; co-founder of the Hermansdorfer Foundation Top Modern Art, dedicated to education, showcasing the family collection, and promoting contemporary art in public spaces.
Ewa Folta – art collector, founder of the FOLTA Collection, art enthusiast and patron. Graduate of postgraduate studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław.
13:30–14:30 | Lecture
The Attitudes of Avant-garde Artists Toward Socialist Realism: Art of the 1950s in the Polish People’s Republic as Exemplified by Wanda Gołkowska’s Work
This lecture will cover issues related to socialist realism in the Polish People’s Republic, including its introduction, ideological foundations, and the socio-political background that shaped its course and character, as well as its impact on the attitudes of Polish artists toward the government’s cultural policy. The subject will be presented in the context of the life and work of Wanda Gołkowska.
Speaker:
Jolanta Studzińska – a graduate of the Lublin School of Fine Arts (1995) and the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław (2000). From 2001 to 2008, she completed doctoral studies at the Faculty of Painting, San Carlos Academy of Fine Arts, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain, earning the highest distinction (2008). In 2016, she received her habilitation from the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław. She has held numerous solo exhibitions in Poland and abroad, and participated in many group exhibitions. In addition to her creative work, she engages in scientific research and curatorial work. Author of publications including *Socialist Realism in Polish Painting* (PWN, Warsaw 2014), *Letter Written Throughout Life – Wanda Gołkowska’s Open System* (Foundation for Unidentified Art, Wrocław 2017), and *Jan Chwałczyk: Light – Shadow – Information* (ed. J. Studzińska, S. Świsłocka-Karwot, Museum of Modern Art, Wrocław 2023).
15:15–16:45 | Discussion
Can Unique Ceramics Be Attractive? The Role of Ceramics in the Work of Wrocław’s Female Artists
This discussion will center on the value of unique ceramics. We will talk about its place among other art fields and its growth potential for collectors. The conversation will focus on the Wrocław female artists who play a significant role in shaping a new face for ceramics.
Participants:
Anna Malicka-Zamorska – graduate of the Faculty of Ceramics and Glass at PWSSP (now ASP) in Wrocław in 1965. She is among the most renowned ceramic artists globally. Recipient of scholarships from GIAE, Churchill, Victoria, Australia; Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa, USA; Academy of the Arts, Reykjavik, Iceland. She has participated in international creative symposia, competitions, and over 200 exhibitions domestically and internationally. Her works are held in museum collections across Europe, the Americas, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea.
Bożena Sacharczuk – visual artist and professor at the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław, in the Faculty of Ceramics and Glass. She specializes in artistic ceramics and curates exhibitions within ASP and collaborates with the Fine Art Gallery Art of Ceramics in Wrocław. Editor of publications promoting artistic ceramics.
Anna Gendaj – founder of Poland’s only unique ceramics gallery, Fine Art Gallery Art of Ceramics in Wrocław. Curator, promoter, and advocate for unique ceramics, as well as a collector and art enthusiast. Graduate of postgraduate studies in Art Mediation and Market at the ASP in Wrocław, as well as programs in Art and Antiques Market at the Academy of Kraków and Public Relations at the University of Wrocław.
17:00–18:30 | Discussion
Remembering the Forgotten: On Archival Searches and Fleeting Memory
This discussion will revolve around the early decades of the Wrocław PWSSP’s Department of Ceramics. We will talk about the role of female artists who shaped the department’s educational program, from the pioneering efforts of Julia Kotarbińska to the activities of her graduates Krystyna Cybińska, Irena Lipska-Zworska, and Halina Olech. We will discuss the ways to gather and verify archival materials, the value of oral history, the nostalgic lens, repeated stories, and forgotten figures.
Moderator:
Barbara Banaś – curator of the Department of Contemporary Ceramics and Glass at the Museum of Modern Art, a branch of the National Museum in Wrocław.
Participants:
Marta Drobińska – Art Documentation Center at the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław.
prof. Katarzyna Koczyńska-Kielan – ceramic artist, Department of Ceramics, Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław.
