The year 2025 was a time of intensive work for the Art Transparent Foundation, combining contemporary art, social engagement, and international cooperation. Continuing its mission to build an accessible and inclusive culture, the foundation implemented both local projects in Wrocław and Lower Silesia and international initiatives aimed at strengthening partner networks and developing tools for working in situations of social, migratory, and environmental crises. The core areas of focus remained community, well-being, memory and herstory, counteracting exclusion, and reflection on how we work, rest, and function today within the attention economy.

International Cooperation and Cultural Diplomacy

In spring 2025, Art Transparent strengthened its presence in the international cultural field. On 10 April 2025, the foundation’s director, Karolina Bieniek, represented the organisation at the conference BEYOND HORIZON: Mobility, Innovation, and Sustainable Cooperation in Arts and Culture in Dakar (Senegal), organised within the DECONFINING project. The meeting marked an important step in building long-term relationships between partner institutions from the European Union and West Africa and in reinforcing partnerships based on real exchange, mobility, and “live” encounters—understood as a condition for meaningful cultural diplomacy. The event brought together representatives of European and African institutions, cultural organisations, and decision-makers, creating space for discussions on artists’ mobility, sustainable cooperation, and the role of cultural policies (including in relation to the 2005 UNESCO Convention).

The foundation’s international activities also extended to project work focused on competence development and effective forms of social communication in culture. Participation in the CartoonNext congress in Marseille strengthened Art Transparent’s perspective on the Tech Tales project—exploring how to combine mission-driven and inclusive values with narrative language and outreach strategies capable of influencing public debate, including in dialogue with broadcasters and commercial partners. Participation in two meetings within The Big Green project—8–14 September in Riga (Latvia) and 20–24 October in Quinta da Fornalha (Portugal)—supported networking and the development of ideas and collaborations initiated by Art Transparent.

An exhibition planned for autumn 2025 in Dar es Salaam within the Deconfining project—intended to accompany the TUKUTANE Dar Arts Week festival organised by partner organisation Nafasi Art Space—had to be postponed due to social unrest in Tanzania in early November 2025. The opening and the foundation’s visit were therefore rescheduled, with plans to invite audiences to the exhibition in Dar es Salaam in early February.

SURVIVAL and the Exhibition within the Cultural Programme of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU 2025

One of the most important moments of the year for the Art Transparent Foundation is the SURVIVAL Art Review. The 23rd edition, titled “3s/8h”, took place from 18–22 June 2025 in the spaces of Leśnica Castle and the former Forty Disco. The theme focused public attention on the relationship between time, work, and attention—from historical demands for the eight-hour workday to today’s “three-second attention threshold” in social media. As every year, SURVIVAL functioned not only as an exhibition but also as a platform for encounter, featuring a programme of events, debates, and activities on the Social Stage, with a strong emphasis on accessibility (including guided tours for groups with special needs and linguistic minorities).

As part of the SYNERGIES programme accompanying the cultural programme of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU 2025, the foundation produced the exhibition “3s/8h” (18–22 June 2025), presenting works by artists from neighbouring countries. The project addressed systems of control, violence, and long emancipation processes, showing that reflection on “free time” today is also a discussion about rights, living conditions, and ways of building communities.

The year 2025 also strengthened the foundation’s national visibility and dialogue with independent cultural communities. Within a project initiated by FRINGE Warszawa at the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Karolina Bieniek participated in the Muzeum Wspólne discussion series (31 May), sharing experiences from over 20 years of grassroots cultural production, including the long-running SURVIVAL Art Review.

Mieszkanie Geppertów Gallery

Exhibitions and activities at Mieszkanie Geppertów Gallery constituted an important part of the foundation’s work, developing both social and educational threads. In 2025, audiences saw “It warms without burning” by Janina Żemojtel and Karolina Freino from the 15% Abstraction series, as well as “It Seems Warmer Outside the Window” by Jan Kowalski, created as part of the Audience Award of the 22nd SURVIVAL. The latter addressed growing up in environments marked by alcohol, combining magical realism, memory, and a critical reflection on relationality that can “divide rather than connect.” Family-oriented activities accompanied the exhibition, including creative workshops led by the artist, encouraging shared, gentle engagement with difficult topics through conversation, memory, and screen-printing practice.

In autumn 2025, the gallery presented “Some Do Not Remember the Colour of Their Mother’s Eyes”, juxtaposing works by Krystyna Michałowska-Podsiadły with a two-channel video by Alicja Kielan and Ilona Witkowska, inspired by the artist’s life and work.

Long-Term Projects: Integration, Herstory, Well-being, and Equal Opportunities

The year 2025 also marked the initiation and structuring of long-term processes shaping the foundation’s future activities.

The Book of Dreaming (2025–2027)—a project led by Art Transparent—began with a kick-off meeting (6–8 May 2025 in Wrocław) involving partner organisations from Latvia, Hungary, and Ukraine. The project focuses on integrating Ukrainian children with refugee experience through art, using the The Book of Your City methodology (Andy Field and Beckie Darlington) while simultaneously developing knowledge exchange tools related to integration and accessibility. From the foundation’s perspective, the international transfer of experience and addressing the realities of working in conditions of ongoing war were particularly significant.

In autumn, the foundation continued the project and series “White Spots Are… Sculptors and Ceramic Artists of Post-war Wrocław”, ongoing since 2018. In 2025, the project combined research, popularisation, and educational activities. A popular-science forum was organised, with audio-video recordings made available on the foundation’s Spotify and YouTube channels. Four articles on industry and ceramic artists of Lower Silesia were published on the foundation’s website, alongside radio broadcasts on Radio Wrocław Kultura and recorded herstories of leading female artists and researchers. All materials are available as podcasts.

Art and Ecology: The Big Green

In 2025, the foundation further developed activities at the intersection of art and ecology within The Big Green project. Participation in the (Un)conference and Homo Novus Festival in Riga (8–14 September 2025) created space for summarising project stages, exchanging practices, and working in the field in the spirit of sustainable mobility and shared responsibility.

In Lower Silesia, the foundation implemented environmental education and intervention projects, including “Beech, Beaver, Sponge. On Forests That Protect Water”, accompanied by the guidebook “Like a Sponge. On Mountain Water-Retention Forests”. The project combined environmental knowledge, artistic sensitivity, and activism.

Intersectoral Projects and Competence Development

Alongside artistic activities, the foundation continued work in research and educational projects, including AI-ITHOS (2024–2026)—an international initiative addressing ethics and research integrity in the age of artificial intelligence, bringing a visual arts perspective into discussions on responsible AI use in culture.

Visibility and Anniversary

December 2025 marked the 20th anniversary of the Art Transparent Foundation. Throughout the year, the team engaged in reflection and summarisation of two decades of grassroots cultural work. The exhibition “20 Years AT” at SZEWSKA Gallery presented selected projects and served as a symbolic overview of the foundation’s experience.

The foundation’s websites were redesigned to integrate knowledge repositories with current activities. arttransparent.org now functions as both an information portal and a knowledge base on contemporary art and the Wrocław Group, while survival.art.pl has become a comprehensive archive of all SURVIVAL Art Review editions.

In the first quarter of 2026, a publication summarising 20 years of the foundation’s activity will be released in print and online.

Key Activities

• 11.2024–7 Feb 2025, Wrocław: “It warms without burning” — exhibition by Janina Żemojtel and Karolina Freino
• 3–7 Feb 2025, Bohinjska Bistrica (Slovenia): participation in the workshop “School of Creative and Sustainable Leadership” within The Big Green project
• Feb 2025, Riga (Latvia): DemArt Conference and premiere of the publication “Toolkit. Social Commissioning of Works of Art”
• Apr 2025, Dakar (Senegal): Art Transparent’s participation in the BEYOND HORIZON conference within the DECONFINING project
• 3–28 Apr 2025, Wrocław: “It Seems Warmer Outside the Window” — exhibition by Janek Kowalski
• 23–26 Apr 2025, Marseille (France): CartoonNext — International Animation Congress within the Tech Tales project
• 6–8 Jun 2025, Ljubljana (Slovenia): AI-THOS project Bootcamp
• 22–23 May 2025, Wrocław: kick-off of The Book of Dreaming project (2025–2027) — integration of children with migration experience
• 5–30 Jun 2025, Wrocław: teaser exhibition for the 24th SURVIVAL Art Review at SZEWSKA Gallery
• May 2025, Warsaw: participation in the Muzeum Wspólne / FRINGE project — discussion on grassroots cultural production
• 18–22 Jun 2025, Wrocław: SURVIVAL Art Review
• 18–22 Jun 2025, Wrocław: “3s/8h” exhibition within the SYNERGIES programme (Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU)
• July–August 2025, Wrocław: “20 Years AT” exhibition at SZEWSKA Gallery
• August–October 2025, Lower Silesia: workshops for children and youth within the “Beech, Beaver, Sponge” project
• September 2025, Żmigród: workshops for children and youth within the Tech Tales project
• 8–14 Sep 2025, Riga (Latvia): (Un)conference and Homo Novus — The Big Green project
• 4–20 Oct 2025, Dobków: “Like a Sponge” exhibition at the Sudetic Educational Farm
• 20–24 Oct 2025, Quinta da Fornalha (Portugal): retreat within The Big Green project
• from 1 Oct 2025: launch of the Clinic of Shared Imaginations project (2025–2027) with Wrocław Medical University — anti-discrimination programme for children and youth
• October–November 2025, Wrocław: workshops for children and youth within The Book of Dreaming project
• October–December 2025, Żmigród and Wrocław: workshops for children and youth within the Clinic of Shared Imaginations project
• Oct 2025, Gorzanów: “15% Abstraction” forum
• Oct 2025, Gorzanów: “Beech, Beaver, Sponge” activities and premiere of the guidebook “Like a Sponge”
• 11–31 Oct 2025, Gorzanów: “Like a Sponge” exhibition at Gorzanów Palace
• 10–27 Nov 2025, Wrocław: “Like a Sponge” exhibition at SZEWSKA Gallery
• 10–13 Nov 2025, Lower Silesia: broadcast of radio programmes from the “15% Abstraction” series on Radio Wrocław Kultura
• 1–20 Nov 2025, online: series of articles on the Wrocław School of Ceramics within the “15% Abstraction” series
• Nov–9 Dec 2025, online: release of podcasts from the “15% Abstraction” series
• Nov 2025–6 Feb 2026, Wrocław: “Some Do Not Remember the Colour of Their Mother’s Eyes” exhibition (extended)
• Nov–31 Dec 2025, Wrocław: exhibition on Krystyna Michałowska-Podsiadły at SZEWSKA Gallery
• 2–4 Dec 2025, Brussels: EaP Civil Society Summit 2025