Graphics: Renata Motyka
Two Exhibitions – Participatory Art in Prisons
ART does not judge: culture only makes sense when it includes everyone.
The Two Exhibitions project, carried out by our Foundation Dom Kultury, involves five cycles of educational activities and creative workshops held in parallel across three pre-trial detention centers in Warsaw – Grochów, Białołęka, and Służewiec. The participants are individuals serving prison sentences – women and men of various ages, coming from different parts of Poland, often socially and culturally excluded from an early age.
Participation that changes perspectives
The workshops are participatory – meaning the participants are not just recipients of knowledge but co-creators of the artistic process. In the theoretical part, they gain knowledge about art history and selected artistic disciplines. In the practical part – together with invited artists – they engage in artistic activities, co-develop the concept of the workshops, and create original works.
For many, this is their first conscious encounter with the world of culture. For most, it is also their first experience of being recognized as a creator – not only a recipient, but a producer of culture.
Artists as companions and co-authors
We have invited artists and educators with whom the Foundation has been collaborating for years: Małgorzata Gurowska, the duo Małgorzata Jabłońska and Piotr Szewczyk, Waldemar Petryk, and the Kwiaciarnia Grafiki collective (Kwiatuchi). Artist Renata Motyka has taken on the task of creating a post-project publication to accompany the exhibitions.
These creators are ready to meet others without prejudice, with openness and attentiveness. Their presence in the prison space is an invitation to an equal dialogue – and reflects a broader commitment to the idea that artists bear responsibility for the social impact of their work.
