WENA PROGRAMME
2024/03/20
1st temporary exhibition at the “Wena” Gallery
“It all starts with just a pencil and paper,” – says Jakub Strzelecki, the Commissioner of the 9th All-Polish Self-Portrait Drawings Biennale of Fine Arts School Students – Radom 2023. On 15 March, the “Wena” Gallery of the Starak Family Foundation at ul. Bobrowiecka 8 in Warsaw opened its 1st temporary exhibition of works created by fine arts school students, awarded, and distinguished at the Self-Portrait Drawings Biennale. The gallery was created to highlight the youngest artists.
The Biennale was organised by: The Centre for Art Education in Warsaw and the Józef Brandt Fine Arts School Complex in Radom.
At the opening, we welcomed Iwona Skowron, deputy director of the Centre for Art Education, and Urszula Januszewska, inspector of the Masovian Region. We were incredibly pleased to hear that principal Skowron appreciates the Foundation’s “Wena” Grant Programme and its initiative to exhibit students’ works in a place that welcomes many visitors thanks to the public collection of Anna and Jerzy Starak.
Poster of the 1st temporary exhibition at the “Wena” Gallery, created by Monika Zietkowska, Desing LLC
We welcomed the principal of the Fine Arts School Complex in Radom, Tomasz Kiliański, the vice-principal for artistic education, Bartłomiej Kopiński, the Biennale’s Commissioners – the drawing and painting teacher and surrealist artist, Jakub Strzelecki, the drawing, painting, and basic design teacher, Anna Symela, as well as the painter and teacher, Edyta Jaworska-Kowalska, who coordinates the educational and artistic project entitled “Take a look”, awarded in the 4th edition of the Starak Family Foundation’s “Wena” Grant Programme Competition entitled “The art of repairing the world”. We were honoured by the presence of Elżbieta Staniszewska, PhD, an artist specialising in artistic textiles, a long-time teacher of drawing and painting at the High School of Fine Arts in Radom, who provides young people and teachers with a theoretical framework of art history for their educational and artistic projects.
Guests at the opening
Witold Bujakowski, head of the Radom Remote Office of the Masovian Voivodeship Conservator of Historical Properties, also attended the opening. We were pleased to welcome Agnieszka Tyrman from the State High School of Fine Arts in Częstochowa, a teacher of graphic techniques and graphic design, coordinator of the “Small Design Form” competition and the “Culture doesn’t hurt” educational and social project. The works /collection of posters/ created during the 8th edition of the “Culture doesn’t hurt” campaign are permanently exhibited at the “Wena” Gallery. The opening exhibition was attended by Paweł Kasprzak, principal of the State High School of Fine Arts in Warsaw, and a group of young art enthusiasts and humanists from the High School No. 163 in Warsaw-Wesoła, chaperoned by Beata Bielska-Karwot, a teacher and promoter of contemporary art.
The opening was inaugurated by Wiesława Giedrojć, Member of the Starak Family Foundation Management Board
From the left: Leszek Ruszczyk, Director of the Jacek Malczewski Museum in Radom,
Bartłomiej Kopiński, vice-principal of artistic education at the Fine Arts School Complex in Radom,
Witold Bujakowski, Head of the Radom Remote Office
of the Masovian Voivodeship Conservator of Historical Properties.
The Self-Portrait Drawings Biennale Competition takes place in Radom for a reason. This is the birthplace of Jacek Malczewski, the master of self-portraiture. The director of the museum, Leszek Ruszczyk, and the curatorial team attended the opening exhibition. We were pleased to hear words of praise and appreciation for creating a space to highlight the youngest artists. We hope to inspire others, so that in the future, galleries and museums open their doors to young artists – students at high schools of fine arts – to support them on their path of artistic development.
Opening of the 1st temporary exhibition in the “Wena” Gallery
The Self-Portrait Biennale has a long-standing tradition and is one of the few to focus on drawing. The works highlighted at the temporary exhibition in the “Wena” Gallery are exceptional, as they have been selected from 647 submissions by a Jury consisting of: Prof. Joanna Trzcińska, ASP Łódź – Chairperson of the Jury, Members: Prof. Andrzej Gręda, ASP Łódź, Prof. Rafał Borcz, ASP Kraków.
Drawing is a valuable tool for shaping young artists. In the words of the Biennale Commissioner, Jakub Strzelecki: “Pencil and paper are the most important media for the artist, and the best ideas are born in the heat of a moment”.
Wiktoria Mrozik, a student at the Fine Arts School Complex in Radom with her work – 3rd Prize at the Biennale
Dmitrij Kuraskin from the Fine Arts School Complex in Radom with his distinguished work
The awarded works are self-portraits full of emotion.
The Grand Prix of the Biennale is a face divided into two parts. What emotion can a scream express? Despite being just 16 years old, the author of the work shows amazing sensitivity and talent.
We were proud to welcome students who created the works awarded and distinguished in Radom. Congratulations to all the prize-winners of the 9th All-Polish Self-Portrait Drawings Biennale.
The following selection of works is highlighted at the temporary exhibition:
Grand Prix – Magdalena Ćwiklińska, age 16, State High School of Fine Arts in Koszalin, artistic custody by: Agnieszka Sieńkowska
1st Prize – Karina Lewicka, age 18, State High School of Fine Arts in Płock, artistic custody by: Anna Macionek-Stańko
2nd Prize, diptych – Katarzyna Jantoszak, age 19, State High School of Fine Arts in Koszalin, artistic custody by: Tadeusz Walczak
3rd Prize – Wiktoria Mrozik, age 18, Fine Arts School Complex in Radom, artistic custody by: Jakub Strzelecki
3rd Prize – Jakub Burdziński, age 20, State High School of Fine Arts in Kościelec, artistic custody by: Agnieszka Arasimowicz
Prize of the Biennale Commissioner, Jakub Strzelecki – Tomasz Barszcz, Fine Arts School Complex in Radom, artistic custody by: Edyta Jaworska-Kowalska
Distinction – Zuzanna Pająk, age 16, Fine Arts School Complex in Radom, artistic custody by: Anna Symela
Distinction – Kinga Fiołek, age 19, Fine Arts School Complex in Rzeszów, artistic custody by: Aneta Martowska-Topór
Distinction – Laura Erecińska, age 16, State High School of Fine Arts in Gdynia, artistic custody by: Józef Karczewski
Distinction – Marta Myślińska, age 18, State Complex of Artistic Education Institutions in Opole, artistic custody by: Zbigniew Natkaniec
Distinction – Anna Kwiecień, age 19, State High School of Fine Arts in Lublin, artistic custody by: Grzegorz Tomczyk
Distinction – Martyna Kaszyca, age 19, High School of Fine Arts in Wrocław, artistic custody by: Agnieszka Traczyńska
Distinction – Jakub Woźniak, age 16, State High School of Fine Arts in Gdynia, artistic custody by: Józef Karczewski
Distinction – Amelia Rewucha, aged 18, State High School of Fine Arts in Zamość, artistic custody by: Dorota Jasek
Distinction – Dmitrij Kuraskin, age 15, Fine Arts School Complex in Radom, artistic custody by: Anna Symela
Distinction – Sebastian Kurkowiak, age 17, High School of Fine Arts in Kalisz, artistic custody by: Izabela Symanowicz
Zuzanna Najbert, age 16, State High School of Fine Arts in Poznań, artistic custody by: Alicja Chabowska
Aleksandra Szumnarska, age 18, State High School of Fine Arts in Poznań, artistic custody by: Beata Maldzis
Maja Piotrowska, age 15, State High School of Fine Arts in Nałęczów, artistic custody by: Łukasz Głowacki
Agata Drygas, age 15, High School of Fine Arts in Wrocław, artistic custody by: Ewa Orzeszyna
Maja Kot, age 17, Fine Arts School Complex in Radom, artistic custody by: Jakub Strzelecki
Zofia Sochacka, age 18, State High School of Fine Arts in Kościelec, artistic custody by: Aleksandra Kacprzak
Konstancja Lorek, age 15, High School of Fine Arts in Wrocław, artistic custody by: Katarzyna Rutkowska
Julia Piechna, age 17, High School of Visual Arts in Grudziądz, artistic custody by: Urszula Kulczyk
Discussions about promoting young artists during the opening
After the exhibition was inaugurated, we invited our guests for a guided tour of Anna and Jerzy Starak’s collection of contemporary art works, which can form a basis for art history and thematic lessons.
Tour of Anna and Jerzy Starak’s private collection of contemporary art works
The “Wena” Gallery is the best place for the works of the youngest artists to see the light of day. Our experience in collaborating with schools and directly interacting with students shows us the importance of their ability to showcase their art outside of the school. We are proud to enable the youngest artists to take their exceptional works outside of the school studio, in the “Wena” Gallery, next to Maurycy Gomulicki’s “Diamond”.
