The "Wena" Gallery

The works were created by students of the Józef Chełmoński State Secondary School of Fine Arts in Nałęczów: Marlena Baca, Agata Gąska, Agata Gutek, Natalia Kamaszewska, Patryk Kwapiński, Zosia Mikowska, Zosia Prokopowicz, and Magdalena Szkutnik. The exhibition is curated by Paweł Pomorski, a teacher and artist.

Paweł Pomorski, exhibition curator, teacher leading the project,
and Wiesława Giedrojć from the Starak Family Foundation

The project team together with Paweł Pomorski, the supervising teacher,
Jolanta Woźniakowska, director of PLSP in Nałęczów,
Wiesław Pardyka, mayor of the town and municipality of Nałęczów,
and Wiesława Giedrojć from the Starak Family Foundation.

The curator of the exhibition, Paweł Pomorski, designed the exhibition to juxtapose the students' works with those of their mentors. The students' mentors were Stanisław and Zbigniew Strzyżyński, Henryk Sapko, while Piotr Kmieć and Łukasz Głowacki personally attended the opening.

 

 

 

 

As Prof. Tomasz Milanowski, Dean of the Faculty of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, said:

The exhibition is an example of a fantastic symbiosis of youth and experience. From the very beginning, he was very enthusiastic about this project, and I consider it to be wise and beautiful. It can be interpreted on many levels and planes. It can be perceived intuitively, without any special preparation in the field of contemporary art.

Prof. Tomasz Milanowski, Dean of the Faculty of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw,
and Wiesława Giedrojć from the Starak Family Foundation

From left: Agata Kulik-Pomorska, teacher of artistic furniture making,
drawing and painting, and wooden toy design at the PLSP in Nałęczów,
Iwona Skowron, deputy director of the Center for Artistic Education in Warsaw,
Paweł Kasprzak, director of the PLSP in Warsaw,
Jolanta Woźniakowska, director of PLSP in Nałęczów.

Wiesław Pardyka, mayor of the municipality of Nałęczów, who was present at the opening, spoke enthusiastically about the resulting objects, saying that he had always dreamed of having wicker sculptures in the Spa Park in Nałęczów, which came true in the fall of 2025.

 

 

 

 

Wiesław Pardyka, mayor of the town and municipality of Nałęczów,
together with Wiesława Giedrojć from the Starak Family Foundation

 

 

 

 

 

The exhibition was visited by: Iwona Skowron, deputy director of the Center for Artistic Education, representatives of the Competition Jury of the “Wena” Grant Program: Anna Woźniak-Starak, Founder and Chair of the Jury, Prof. Tomasz Milanowski, originator of the theme of the 5th edition of the Program Competition entitled “What's new in art?”, Michał Borowik, Anna and Patryk Starak, Paweł Kasprzak, director of PLSP in Warsaw, Smocza 6, dr Janusz Kucharski with students from LSP at ZSP 6 Piotrków Trybunalski, dr Elżbieta Staniszewska, artist and long-time teacher at the Józef Brandt School of Fine Arts in Radom, Beata Bielska-Karwot with students from 163 Czesław Niemen High School in Warsaw.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anna Woźniak-Starak, Founder and Chairwoman of the Competition Jury of the “Wena” Grant Program and Wiesława Giedrojć from the Starak Family Foundation

dr Janusz Kucharski with students from the Queen Jadwiga Secondary School of Fine Arts No. 6 in Piotrków Trybunalski, winners of the sixth edition of the Starak Family Foundation's “Wena” Grant Program competition entitled “Map on a scale of one to one.”

Congratulations to the creators and curator on this wonderful project!

The objects were also presented at the ŁÓDŹ DESIGN FESTIVAL 2025 event on May 20-25.

A unique artistic and educational project carried out by talented students of the State Secondary School of Fine Arts in Nałęczów. The key objective of the project was to create spatial sculptures that combine tradition with modernity. The participants drew inspiration from the work of renowned artists associated with Nałęczów, while also exploring their own contemporary artistic motifs. The result was a dialogue between generations – between masters and young artists.

Based on the knowledge they gained and the exchange of insights, the students identified common themes and outlined the concepts for their works. The second stage of the project brought concrete creative results – each participant designed and made a unique spatial object out of wicker. Eight original sculptural forms were created, which harmoniously interact as a whole, according to the Festival announcements.

Nature returns to nature

On September 26, 2025, a cultural event of great importance for the promotion of the town took place in the spa park in Nałęczów. It was important for the local community, for the artists living and working here, and for future art students studying at the Józef Chełmoński State Secondary School of Fine Arts in Nałęczów.

Sophisticated wicker abstract spatial forms were officially unveiled in the park in Nałęczów. This marked the completion of the final stage of the educational and artistic project entitled “The Art of Observing Art,” which won an award in the fifth edition of the “Wena” Grant Program Competition organized by the Starak Family Foundation

The project was completed in 2024. The works were then presented in various locations and exhibitions: in Nałęczów, at the Starak Family Foundation's “Wena” Gallery in Warsaw, in Łódź, and in Gdańsk. Even then, it seemed that the objects had begun to take on a life of their own. However, it is only now, when they have settled in the Spa Park in Nałęczów, that they really begin to function independently, in symbiosis with beautiful nature, and continue to enter into the creative process with it. One could say that nature has returned to nature!

 

 

The works look wonderful. They have brought new energy and dynamism to this historic place.

 

 

 

 

The ceremonial unveiling of the objects was performed by: Wiesław Pardyka, Mayor of Nałęczów, Zbigniew Strzyżyński, Deputy Director for Artistic Affairs at the Józef Chełmoński State Secondary School of Fine Arts in Nałęczów, and Paweł Pomorski, the teacher leading the award-winning project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Piotr Kmieć, artist and mentor for young people in the project, long-time artistic director of the Nałęczów art school.

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations on the completion of the project. We invite you to participate in future competitions under the Wena Grant Program. This example inspires and proves that drawing on the artistic heritage of a place and establishing dialogue and relationships with established artists is of great importance for shaping the young artistic elite in Nałęczów.

 

We invite the residents of Nałęczów to take autumn walks in the park of wicker spatial forms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wiesław Pardyka, Mayor of Nałęczów, together with Wiesława Giedrojć from the Starak Family Foundation, Zbigniew Strzyżyński, Deputy Director for Artistic Affairs at the PLSP in Nałęczów, and the authors of the objects.

 

 

 

 

Event organizers: Józef Chełmoński State Secondary School of Fine Arts in Nałęczów and the Municipality of Nałęczów.

 

Partners of the Starak Family Foundation's “Wena” Grant Program: Center for Artistic Education in Warsaw, Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Academic Design Center in Łódź, Society of Friends of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw.