The beginnings of the Art Transparent Foundation and the SURVIVAL Art Review date back to a time when the art field in Poland was still in transition after the political transformation of 1989. Exhibitions were mainly limited to those approved by academic staff, curators were rarely mentioned, and there were very few available spaces. Everything functioned provisionally—made of cardboard or held together with string—amid the realities of emerging from the free-for-all of the 1990s while simultaneously entering the European Union.
SURVIVAL grew out of these extreme conditions, which is precisely why it proved so compelling from the outset. Its format was authentic—it reflected the way we operated at the time and offered a genuine sense of freedom. The Art Transparent Foundation, established by Michał Bieniek together with his sister Karolina Bieniek, was from the beginning an attempt to give that freedom structure: to stabilize it and extend it over time. It was a grassroots initiative, often imperfect, yet consciously responding to the chaotic reordering of reality by state and local institutions in the new European context.
Over time, a sense of order began to emerge from this provisionality—still processual in nature—while the original freedom became the foundation for consistent work, a solid organizational structure, and a recognizable brand. That freedom has not disappeared, however: in subsequent editions of SURVIVAL it remains alive as an experience in which, as Aleksy Wójtowicz aptly put it, “everything happens for the first time.”
The Art Transparent Foundation for Contemporary Art was established in Wrocław in 2005. It organizes the SURVIVAL Art Review, runs the contemporary art gallery Mieszkanie Geppertów (since 2007), and the Szewska Gallery (since 2021).
The Foundation is also active in publishing. Each year, the program of events produced by Art Transparent includes festivals, artistic interventions in public space, exhibitions, and an extensive social program. Annually, the Foundation co-finances and produces dozens of artworks. Art Transparent pursues its mission through local, nationwide, and international projects. More information about the Foundation’s activities can be found at: arttransparent.org and survival.art.pl.
